I was reading the Courier Post this morning (I think the one from today) and they had an article in there called "Pollinate/Keep insects in the garden," by Matt Chimento. So a couple of things caught my eye.
First off they recommended Butterfly Weed, Milkweed, Black-eyed Susan, and Cone flowers.
Second Lorraine Kiefer, owner of the Triple Oaks Nursery and Herb Garden in Franklinvile commented. "If a gardener doesn't garden naturally, it is very hard to keep pollinators. The homeowner is not qualified to have dangerous pesticides. The bottom line is that people need to garden naturally, make the garden conductive to butterflies or honey bees."
I have to say I'm impressed with her statement. I'll have to check out Triple Oaks in person next year. All good sound advice so far... but then,
Debbie Kearns, owner of Jones Nursery in Williamstown, also subscribes to the natural method. [b]Kearns recommended soaking a sock in sugar water, then freezing it. "If you freeze the sock and hang it outside, it starts to thaw and lets off the scent of the sugar."[/b]
At this point I threw up all over the page at the thought of our bees taking in "sock honey."
