Autumn is the time when we gather and put away our harvest for the winter. While the honey harvest has been taken off and processed into delicious treats for the year, the honeybees are still busy gathering nectar and pollen for their trip through the coming winter. Early autumn is when the queen bee and her workers are raising the bees that will over-winter and they are very much in need of both pollen and nectar.
Autumn flowers are very important sources of honey and pollen for the bees and there are a number that will help the bees make enough food to carry them through until spring. Some of the most floriferous are Asters, Solidago, commonly known as Goldenrod and Vitex. Asters come in both annual and perennial varieties. Goldenrod has many varieties, some of which have more nectar and are thus more attractive to honeybees. Vitex agnus costus is a flowering bush that blooms well into autumn here in the mid-Atlantic. Another beautiful and useful crop to both bees and us is the fall blooming Crocus sativus, also known as the Saffron crocus. Plant enough of them and you will have saffron for your cooking while the bees have lovely orange pollen and nectar for their stores.Later in the season and into the winter there will be Witch hazel and Hellebores blooming, both of which can be important for honeybees in our area during the warmer days when they will venture out of their hives.
As we finish with our harvesting it is becoming the time for thinking and planning the garden for the spring. It is the time when I look for gardening books in the library and order plant catalogs for my winter musings. Just thinking about cozying up with some hot mulled cider and some catalogs filled with beautiful photos gives me a warm happy feeling, perhaps like my bees all snuggled up with their mom and sisters and lots of honey.
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