This Week in the Garden: Feeding Bees

Pottering around and noticing

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This week in the garden it was fairly quiet. I got stuck into a little bit of weeding and the daily watering, nothing too strenuous, which was perfect since we’ve had a few social events on and friends visiting from interstate. It was nice to have some downtime and not feel the pressure to tackle a big project.

I remembered how much I enjoy these slower moments in the garden. I’ve been so focused on the bigger projects—landscaping and planning—that I forgot how satisfying it is to just be in the garden, pottering around, noticing the little things. How the plants are settling in, how they’re responding to the warmer weather, what animals are starting to make their way into the yard.

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The landscaping is a necessary part of this journey. Digging, building, and planting, to create the gardens we can eventually enjoy and potter around in. Slow gardening is where the real magic happens. Taking the time to just sit back and observe. Connecting with the garden in a less “go-go-go” kind of way.

I’m a huge advocate for gardening for our well-being. So many studies show that getting your hands in the soil can reduce stress and anxiety, and boost your mood. I know it’s a privilege to live on a large suburban block. Nature is something every single person should have access to. Even a small green space, a few plants on a balcony, a tiny herb garden on the kitchen bench, or a lovely weed patch like the one below, growing along the edge of your lawn or house. It’s good for the soul.

Gardening for the bees

The highlight of the week was spotting this Teddy Bear bee (Amegilla Bombiformis) flitting around the lavender while I was planting seedlings in the new veggie bed. These sweet little fuzz balls are closely related to Blue Banded bees. Fantastic pollinators. Leaving the Blue Banded bees behind at our last house crushed me a little. Seeing this little one filled me with so much joy. I hope we attract more to the garden.

We’ve had quite a few different native bee species (and a few honey bees) visit recently. At the end of the retaining wall, there’s a space—about three meters long—in front of the Callistemon and Banksia. I plan to plant more Banksia when I can find them, but they’re slow-growing so that space will be empty for a while yet.

Since it’s so close to the veggie beds, I thought it would be the perfect spot to plant some seasonal flowers for the bees. And let’s be honest, also for me. I’m a big advocate for planting natives, but there’s joy to be found (and food for insects) in planting seasonal flowers. I bought a seed mix from Meadow Flowers, and with a bit of luck, we should see a nice burst of colour in a few months.

We need bees. Honey bees and native bees. They are crucial for our gardens—for pollinating our food crops and for supporting native plants. There are over 1,700 species of native bees in Australia, each playing a unique role in the ecosystem. It’s always a good idea to plant with these little guys in mind to encourage more in your garden.

What’s been happening in the garden

• Mushrooms! On Wednesday, I woke up to find a whole bunch of tiny fungi popping up along the retaining wall. They might be Macrolepiota dolichaula (Long-Stemmed Parasol), but I’m not entirely sure. If anyone out there is a mycologist, I’d love to know what they are!

• The Chrysocephalum I planted two weeks ago is settling in nicely and starting to spread. The tube stock of the same species I planted earlier has grown a bit, too and already showing off some tiny yellow flowers. If you’re after a cheerful and fast-growing ground cover, I can’t recommend them enough.

• Another pop of yellow in the form of the Phebalium squamulosum. The warmer days have coaxed out its pretty flowers. I’ll definitely be adding more of these around the yard, they’re such a lovely native plant.

• We have a new regular visitor—a Grey Butcher Bird who’s figured out that our digging days mean easy food pickings. I’m amazed by how sharp their eyesight is; they can spot food from the top of a 30-foot Eucalypt and swoop down in an instant. Nature is incredible.

• The Callistemon is dropping leaves rapidly. I’m hoping it’s just a little transplant shock and that it’ll bounce back soon. If anyone has advice, I’m all ears!

• I planted all the spring seeds – tomatoes, capsicum, chilis, cucumbers – plus the herbs that I left behind at the last house. If all goes to plan, the second veggie bed will be ready in time to plant the seedlings when they’re ready.

I’m off to a native plant market this weekend to track down some specific species for the next stage of the front yard garden. If you’re local, it’s run by the Native Plants Queensland group, this time at the Belmont Shooting Complex. I’ve been to two of their native plant markets, it’s brilliant. Such a diverse range of native plants and the growers and members are a wealth of knowledge. These are the people you should be talking to about native plants to suit your garden. They’ve been doing it for decades.

Until next week.