August 3, 2020
Pittman Center Has Become A Bee City!
Our community of Pittman Center has joined communities across the country to call attention to an important issue. Affiliates of Bee City USA are working to protect pollinators. So far 111 cities have signed up to raise awareness, establish and enhance habitats, and celebrate the efforts of volunteer leaders.
Honey bees are busy at work in Buckhorn Inn flower and vegetable gardens.
Honey bees and other pollinators are facing threats at increasing rates. According to Bee City USA http://www.beecityusa.org one of every three bites of food that we eat is thanks to insect pollination. In fact, 90% of all plants and trees rely on pollinators for the survival of their species. That is why we must be concerned with bees disappearing because of loss of habitat, diseases and parasites, and inappropriate pesticide use. Some experts estimate that U.S. honey bee populations are declining at an annual rate of as much as 44%.
Pittman Center Approves Resolution
In May 2020 the town of Pittman Center approved a resolution naming the town an affiliate of Bee City USA. The town’s Tree Board will oversee the Bee City USA program. The town will host at least one educational event or pollinator habitat planting each year to showcase the community’s commitment. There also are plans to create or expand a pollinator-friendly habitat on public and private land. The Tree Board also will create and adopt an integrated pest management plan. This plan will be designed to prevent pest problems, reduce pesticide use, and expand the use of non-chemical pest management methods.
At the Buckhorn Inn, we are delighted with this new program. This is the second summer for our honey bee hives. We report that Queens Violet and Catherine and their minions are healthy and happy. You can watch them at work in our vegetable and flower gardens. When the nectar is flowing they are especially busy in St. Cordelia’s garden. We hope you have a chance to watch them at work.
May 28, 2019
Tennessee Wildflowers Come to Buckhorn Inn
Wildflowers are a tremendous asset to pollinators, in addition to looking beautiful. In fact, we have planted a mini-meadow of wildflowers near our bee hives. Our seed mix includes perennials, self-seeding annuals, and biennials. We sowed: butterfly weed, partridge pea, lance-leaf coreopsis, plains coreopsis, purple coneflower, rattlesnake master, Indian blanket, standing cypress, blazing star, wild lupine, lemon mint, drummond phlox, Mexican hat, clasping coneflower, black-eyed susan, scarlet sage, and spiderwort.
How to Grow Wildflowers
Wildflowers have survived floods and drought, sandy soil and clay, scorching sun and freezing wind, all on their own. They can be as tenacious as, well, weeds. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” So how difficult are they to grow? As it turns out, they are very adaptable.
Honeybees love black-eyed susans.
We ordered a seed mix specifically designed for our geographic area from http://www.americanmeadows.com. We selected a sunny site and removed the grass from the soil. We loosened the dirt and scattered the seeds. We worked the seeds into the soil by walking on top of them. The seedlings have emerged. We will continue to water them until they are about 6″ tall. After that, Mother Nature will handle the watering! We hope the first blooms will appear in early summer.
In late fall, after the flowers have dropped their seeds, we will mow the whole area. The clippings will stay in place to break down and feed the soil.
Our meadow should not require chemical fertilizers or herbicides, so they are an eco-friendly option. If this small experiment works, we may expand our meadow. There are many advantages to growing wildflowers. They enrich the soil and require very little mowing–usually only once a year. Different bloom times guarantee a spectacular show throughout the warm months. The plants are good for steep slopes where they can stabilize the land and prevent erosion.
We will be sure to post pictures as our new addition grows and blooms!
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