I’ll admit it, 20 years ago I never even thought of the importance bees and other pollinators have. They were just something that was taken for granted…they did their job & everyone was happy. Until they stopped showing up for work. There’s many theories about why they’re dying, and I can’t fix everything, but I can help out the ones we still have.

While we don’t have our own hives, our neighbors do – it was a project that our neighbor wanted to share with his son. So while his bees come over to our place & do their work, it’s my job to make sure they’ve got a nice variety to munch on.

The 3 acres that surrounds our gardens is in a conservation program for another couple of years. This land is covered in prairie grasses & wild flowers, but to me that’s not enough. We’re also planting a variety of flowers this year to add more food to their plate. Years ago, when I just gardened, I used to think, if I can’t eat it, why would I grow it? Now I realize, it’s not just about me, it’s about keeping the bees & butterflies happy.

Here’s some baby Marigold’s: