Worcester County Beekeepers Association

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Pollinator Garden

Importance of Bees in the Garden

The role of bees is much, much larger than honey production. Not only do they pollinate much of our native flora, they are also responsible for about one-third of our daily diet. From soybeans to cantaloupes to apples, a big percentage of our edible crops require floral visits from bees to form fruits, vegetables, and even nuts. Other edibles, like cabbage, onions, celery, and mustard needs bee pollination to form seeds for propagation as well as the spice rack. Hence beehives have gone hand-in-hand with the production of crops.

Creating a Pollinator Friendly Garden

JEAN VOSE

Considering the growing concern over the recent loss and disappearance of honeybees and other pollinators across the country, many backyard devotees are rediscovering a relatively simple and fun way to assist not only the honeybee but also the other essential pollinators in their back yard and gardens. By providing a pollinator habitat in the yard, one can increase the quality and quantity of their garden fruits and vegetables. While many may prefer butterflies, moths and birds paying visits to their gardens, bees and other insects should also be welcomed, as they are such important pollinators of many crops in our food supply.

Jean Vose will present a program entitled “Pollinators and the Gardens that Feed Them: Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Yard”. Pollinators include bees of all kinds, wasps [both predatory and parasitic], birds, bats, and butterflies as well as moths and other beneficial creatures found in our gardens. She will discuss how to create an environment to attract and support them. This includes identification of these creatures and how they work in gardens. Part of the presentation includes eco-friendly tips as well.

Jean is an experienced Master Gardener, certified horticulturist and backyard beekeeper living in Danielson, Connecticut where she has created gardens to attract pollinators as well as the other beneficial creatures. The original home, established in 1973, features a cape cod home of that era bounded by trees and understory shrubs. She moved into the home in June 2022 and found the gardens in need of renovating and rehabilitation. She spent the summer resurrecting gardens that now feature ornamental plants, vegetables, herbs, and shady spots. In addition, there is a garden grown just for her backyard bunny – an eastern cottontail named Flopsy.

Prior to her move to Connecticut, she spent 24 years in mid coast Maine where created gardens to attract pollinators as well as the other beneficial creatures. The original homestead, established in 1910, features a farmhouse of that era bounded by more than 10 acres of open fields and mixed woods. The gardens feature vegetables, herbs, ornamental grasses, trees, and shady spots. There is a garden grown just for beneficial insects/pollinators. Most of these gardens have been established for over 20 years.

She had been a backyard beekeeper since 1986. She kept and managed honeybee hives in her backyard apiary for pollination and honey. She and her late husband, after relocating to Maine in 1998, created a beekeeping school in 2001. From this school, Knox-Lincoln County Beekeepers (KLCB) was launched in 2003.

She is very interested in conservation and other nature activities. She has been a “birder” for many years and enjoys watching the birds in her back yard. In the winter, she counts birds for Cornell’s Project Feeder Watch; an activity she has enjoyed for almost 40 years.

Jean