Another widespread roadside weed that attracts honey bees and all kinds of native bees with its sky-blue flowers is chicory. Native to Europe but naturalized throughout the world, chicory has long been grown as an edible, with the ground-up, roasted roots of one form used as a coffee substitute, and the somewhat bitter Spring leaves of other forms harvested for culinary use. It’s also grown as a forage crop in certain regions. But for bees, the value in chicory is in the sky-blue flowers loaded with abundant white pollen. While it’s not recommended that you plant chicory (it’s on the noxious weed list of a number of states), if it’s growing wild near your hives, it will prove to be a good source of Summer pollen. Grows to four to five feet and prefers dry, infertile soil. (USDA Zone 3-9) Take care of your plants. I know this goes without saying, but I couldn’t go without saying it. Ensure your plants have plenty of access to water, sunlight, and ideal soil conditions for their plant type. Your bees will thank you. Their blooms come in white, pink, or purple, and they add a dash of color and aroma to your landscape.

And if you’re interested in becoming a beekeeper, learn about the different types of hives like vertical or horizontal hives. One of the advantages of seeking out local honey or buying directly from a beekeeper – urban as much as rural – is that you can find out where their bees are gathering nectar. There is excellent UK honey that has less far to travel (and so reduces honey’s carbon footprint), including wildflower multifloral honey and heather honey from the moorlands of Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire, Northumbria and Devon. While that might be a little somber for you and me (blue flowers, after all, tend to recede in our vision compared to bright yellows and reds), a blue-flowered garden can be a supermarket for honey bees, provided the right plants are grown in quantity and in sequence throughout the foraging season, so there’s always something in bloom. Quantity is important, of course, because honey bees practise economy-of-scale in their foraging trips; they need a sufficient population of each preferred nectar- or pollen-rich plant to make a visit worthwhile. Unlike bumble bees and other native bees, honey bees are ‘flower-faithful’ or ‘flower-constant’, as Charles Darwin wrote, learning the intricacies of the anthers or nectaries, then working on one type of flower until its pollen or nectar is depleted. So if you have a small garden, choose just a few from the list below, but plant lots of them. And, of course, avoid the use of insecticides and herbicides. One tip from Moroccan kitchens is to add a little honey to cooked tomatoes, for example in a sauce or a tagine , to balance and enhance their sweet-sourness. If you're interested in investing in a vibrator, then you're certainly not alone, with Good Housekeeping research revealing that the sex toy is no longer considered taboo. In fact, nearly half of couples now choose to use vibrators to enhance their sex lives. Vibrators can be enjoyed for solo-use and pleasure or can be introduced in the bedroom for you and a partner to enjoy.Apply a small amount to external erogenous zones, and allow a few minutes for the balm to take effect. Reapply as necessary. This species is biennial, meaning it makes leaves the first year, then flowers, sets seed and dies in the second season. So abundant is the seed that, once planted, you’ll never forget it – thus its common name. It is a good source of nectar over a long period in Spring, and exhibits an interesting reproduction strategy. Once the tiny flowers have been pollinated, the fleshy five-part yellow ring at the center, which acts as a nectar guide, loses its yellow carotene pigment and turns off-white, signalling to the bees that nectar is no longer being produced. (USDA Zone 3-9) Being grape-scented, rather than being a true hyacinth, is what gives this little Spring bulb its common name. Its nodding, white-edged, cobalt-blue flowers clustered on stems about six to eight inches tall are an excellent early source of nectar and white pollen for honey bees. Grape hyacinths flower at the same time as forget-me-nots, below, and they pair well together. Plant the small bulbs in Autumn at about twice the depth of the bulb’s height. And don’t worry if you see leaves emerging in Autumn; that is a perfectly normal trait of Spring-flowering muscari. (USDA Zone 4-8) Professor Monique Simmonds of Kew Gardens, who researches traditional and economic uses of plants around the world, says honey in traditional medicines works partly because the sugar manages to enter the cell wall of plants which in turn makes them more effective. It seems a spoonful of honey really does help the medicine go down, as well as making bitter compounds taste more palatable. Just a small drop in a cup of herbal tea works in the same way and enhances the flavour. To have annual flowers that attract bees, the bees need easy access to the florets in the center to gather nectar.

However there can be no doubt it does come with some health benefits. Honey has been used for healing for at least 8,000 years . Its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties are best found in honey that hasn’t been heated too much (such as raw honeys). Use the sweetness of honey in a mix of sweet and sour, and in the combinations of hot, sweet, sour and salty which are commonly found in southeast Asian and Chinese dishes including stir-fries . Beware of what is known in the trade as ‘funny honey’, for example honey adulterated with sugar syrup . If you open a jar and there’s no fragrance and a boiled sweet taste then you’re not getting the full joy, taste and benefits you want from honey. What's the difference between set and runny honey?Liatris is one of the great beauties of North America. It grows wild from Mexico all the way up to Canada.

Conversely, if the label says ‘product of more than one country’ then the honey has been blended from a number of sources and is less distinctive than pots that come from one hive and its surroundings.These plants bloom in the fall, so they’re a crucial late-season food source for many types of bees. Some gardeners even use shrubs as transition points in landscape design. Even if you only want to bring in a few bees or want to create a bee haven, adding shrubs that bees love to your landscape benefits everyone. Fruit, cheese, spices, herbs and nuts are all best friends with honey, and it also brings out the sweetness in roast root vegetables such as honey roast carrots . Think about the amount of sunlight required for each shrub to ensure you match the lighting requirements. Use shrubs with different blooming periods to provide a food source for bees for a more extended period.

It's unsurprising the Greeks love honey, and pair it with halloumi or feta in a cheese, courgette and honey pie which combines several honey-friendly flavours.

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In southern climates, you can plant them only in the spring and fall. They shouldn’t be planted in hot summer temperatures because the heat can damage the plant. Coat the plug with plenty of water-based anal lubricant. Insert the toy gently into the anus, and enjoy the sensations. Since crocuses are considered one of the best spring flowers for bees, you should plant them in the late summer or early fall to get that spring bloom. Yarrows are considered reliable summer bloomers. That said, some varieties even bloom in the spring and fall. Honeybees, for example, also use pollen and nectar to help their hive survive. They use it to make honey and “bee bread” which is fed to the baby bees.