I love the first flowers of spring. Their bursts of color brightening everything after the grey winter like a refreshing yawn after a long sleep.
Though they haven’t been sleeping, the bees are also coming out of their hives and they are HUNGRY! If there are no flowers blooming yet, they will turn to other sources to find the protein they need. A perfect example came recently when very few flowers had bloomed yet, but my daughter’s bird feeder for a school project had cracked corn in it. The powder from the cracked corn had the protein that the bees were looking for.
That feeder was full when we set it out and the bees emptied it in only a few hours. The chickens didn’t mind cleaning up all of that spilled bird food, but the wild birds didn’t seem too pleased.
To keep the bees from tearing away at the bird feeders, what flowers are great for giving them the nutrients they need after the long winter?
After doing some research, here’s what I found:
Crocus and Snowdrops are two popular choices. Snowdrops are early bloomers, sometimes even popping up when snow is still on the ground and are usually left alone by wildlife. Crocus are gorgeous, but are popular among rabbits and squirrels.
Daffodils and Grape Hyacinths are two other popular choices for early blooms. Daffodils are easy, but will stop blooming if the bulbs become crowded. Grape Hyacinths are deer resistant.
After the bee fiasco this year, I’m definitely planning on planting some of these bulbs in my garden for next spring.
Of course, the bees did start leaving the feeder alone once the spring blooming trees came to life!
