Organic Beekeeping Journal presented by The Healing Path promoting Natural Methods of honeybee colony management which we refer to as "Organic Beekeeping"

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Organic Beekeeping Journal
Honeybee Forage and Bee Gardens

JI Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
1971 - Eighteenth Printing
"Forests were cut down, fields were made larger. Controlled burning of woods and wasteland destroyed the home and food supply of the wild pollinators. Implements ripped up the burrows of the beneficial earth-dwelling bees; and others who nested in reeds lost their homes and food plants.......Concentrated plantings of one crop over large acreages left the bees no wild plants to live on when the crop was not blooming; with nothing to fill in the gap in their food supply, they starved and disappeared practically overnight."
The section goes on to a solution
"Tests by various experiment stations showed that on a cultivated plot situated next to overgrown land, wild bees were four times as numerous as on tilled plots surrounded by other tilled land. You can preserve some uncultivated or eroded land specifically for bees, and sometimes bee broods found on land that is to be tilled can be moved to these areas. Plant them to trees, shrubs, grasses and legumes, and keep your livestock out."

Creating the forage or bee garden

**For beekeepers with a large piece of land available, leaving land untilled is a formidable choice. Many beekeepers do not have this advantage but there are other ways to add to the forage.
**A bee garden is a worthwhile project. Plants can be companioned for the health of the bees as well as honey flow. Special attention can be given to early and late blooming forage to help at a time when bees are most vulnerable to difficulties such as robbers or starvation. Some plants are so very rich in nectar or pollen, that one tree or bush or plot of land can provide a substantial supply. For instance, Rodale reported one lime bush could keep one hive in nectar all season and one acre of anise hyssop has been said to be enough nectar for 100 hives. Where these figures may not be exact in all circumstances, it is a place for us to start our work in pursuing the Art of Organic Beekeeping.

Bee Plants for the landscaper | Early and late blooming bee plants

Organic Beekeeping: Plants for forage and honeybee gardens
Bee plants divided by growth type for the landscaper

Herbs and Flowers

Comfrey
Germander
Veronica
Nasturtium
Stevia
Basil
Butterfly weed
Buglass
Chamomile
Chicory
Dropwort
Fennel
Ground Ivy
Hyssop
Lavender
Marjoram
Melilot
Dead Nettle
Queen of the Meadow
Winter Savory
Fuschia
Blanket Flower
Snapdragon
Catmint
Catnip
Clovers
Cresses

Rosemary
Pincushion
Goldenrod
Yarrow
Milkweed
Aster
Bellflower
Cornflower
Chrysanthemum
Lily of the Valley
Coreopsis
Foxglove
Fleabane
Russian Sage
Sages
Buckwheat
Lungwort
Pulsatilla (Pasque Fl)
Bee Balm (Bergamot)
Lemon Balm
Thyme
Borage
Snakeroot
All Mints
Teasel
Daphne
Dandelion

Bushes, Shrubs and Hedges

Button Bush
Russian Olive
Hebe
Bush Clover
Spice bush
Bush Cherry
Firethorn
Sumac
Pussy Willow
Thimbleberry
Snowberry
Blueberry
Lingonberry
Cranberry
Manzanita (UvaUrsi)
Oregon Grape
Mock Orange
Hollies
Desert Willow
Crape Myrtle (pruned to bush)
Escallonia

Vines

Wineberry
Honeysuckles

Small Trees

Loquat
Bee Bee Tree
Silverbell Trees
Hollies
Quince
Redbud
Lilacs
Blue Mist (Coryopteris)
Serviceberry
Plum trees
Dwarf fruit trees
Hazels
Alder
Medlar
Crape Myrtle

Trees

Golden Raintree
Tulip Tree (Yellow Poplar)
Abelia
Tree of Heaven
Acacia (Locust or Wattle)
Maples (Red, Silver, Sugar etc)
Devil's Walking Stick
American Yellow Wood
Summer Sweet
Cotoneaster
Hawthorn
Tupelo (black gum)
Sorrel (Sourwood)
Willows
Basswood
Linden
Elm
Chaste Tree
Persimmon
Horse Chestnut
Chinese and Oregon Ash

Cultivated Fruit Tree Varieties

Apples
Cherries
Peach
Apricot
Plum
Pears
Citrus (all varieties)

Vegetable Garden Plants

Corn
Tomatoes
Peppers
Cucumbers
Melons
Beans
Legumes

Bee plants for early forage and late forage

Early Forage

Maples
Alder
Dandelion
Winter Honeysuckle
Willows
Pussy Willow
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Buckwheat
Crabapples

Late Forage

Asters
Bush Clover
Clovers
Goldenrod
Witch Hazels
Bee Bee Tree

An excellent resource for plants:
Forest Farm
990 Tetherow Road
Williams, Oregon 97544-9599
541-846-7269
Catalog: $5

These folks are not organic, but there are some very good articles here:
Article on forage/bee gardens at http://www.ent.msu.edu/abj/nov97.html
The index of many articles on forage http://www.ent.msu.edu/abj/archive_index.html

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