Xeriscape Plant Profile: Lamb's Ears

If your question is, "What bee plant does well in Colorado that I can't kill?" the answer is Lamb's Ears. So prolific it's invasive, but how can one say, "No," to a plant so loved by bees? And not just honeybees but also bumble bees, mason bees, and butterflies as well. Speaking of invasive, the wool carder bee favors this plant for its white hairs, or wool, which it gathers with its mandibles to create chamber partitions in its nest. If you can't see the video below, click on over to my Instagram page and you'll see the bee gathering a big wad of fibers.

#WoolCarder #bee gathering #lambsears wool. #bees #303beekeeper

A video posted by BackyardBee (@backyardbee) on Jun 28, 2015 at 11:03am PDT

Stachys byzantina is so easy to grow, you don't even really need to "plant" it. Many a patch in my garden started as clumps ruthlessly ripped out and forgotten, left to die but instead rooted. Once established, it needs no supplemental water. It takes mile high sun and heat without wilting, and blooms profusely through the summer with a candy sweet perfume that just beckons pollinators to partake of its sweet nectar.

A photo posted by BackyardBee (@backyardbee) on Jun 3, 2015 at 12:36pm PDT

Not only does this ground cover spread by stem rooting, it is a ready reseeder. The flower spikes stand 2-3' tall above the furry foliage and when the monsoonal rains come they flop over, I think as a strategy for seed dispersal. As highly visited by bees as the flowers are, seeds are abundant. To help keep this rampant grower in check, deadhead by grabbing the flower stalk down low and yank hard, letting it pull whatever it may with it, usually a decent length of rooted stem.

As a preventive measure, I even remove flower stalks as they develop, as many as I can reach from the front edge of the garden without stepping onto the mulch. This creates a nice low border of just the foliage.

Like a crème brûlée, this pairing is about contrasts and complements: furry, vertical Lamb's Ears and sharp orbs of Star of Persia. Its in-your-face metallic purple is echoed in the magenta pink of the inconspicuous Lamb's Ear blooms, while tiny orbs of green in the ripening onion blossoms complete the final balancing act.  

Early June: Reiter's Thyme (just starting to bloom), Jupiter's Beard, and Mouse Ears Coreopsis flank the Lamb's Ears in this no-water bed.

More Lamb's Ears greets me when I go out the front door. The other plants are sedum (unknown var. by the rock), 'Coronation Gold' yarrow, "Mainacht" salvia, golden privet, more salvia and yarrow. This highly xeric garden is as much about the foliage as it is about the flowers. 

Wish I'd had my #photojojo macro lens on me... this Melissodes bimaculata was "sleeping" on the Lamb's Ear... woulda been an easy capture. Focusing probably would have been easier, too, so I could show you her tail lights. :(

A photo posted by BackyardBee (@backyardbee) on Jul 23, 2014 at 10:26am PDT

Seedlings are just as furry as the parent plants and once identifiable, transplant easily. Pretty handy if you've got bare patches in your garden where nothing else will grow. Keep in mind, though, that lamb's ears are not evergreen and our harsh winters turn the leaves a drab brittle beige, creating quite a spring cleaning task if you've got huge swaths of the stuff. It rakes up pretty easily and smells sweet like the flowers. Be watchful for ladybugs when throwing the leaves into the trash or compost pile.

A photo posted by BackyardBee (@backyardbee) on Jun 21, 2014 at 1:07pm PDT

Xeriscape Plant Profile: Armenian Speedwell

My posts have gotten fewer and farther between but I noticed a spike in views of Xeriscape Plant Profile: Rock Soapwort so I'm finally adding to what I'd planned as a series on xeric bee plants.

Armenian Speedwell is a little-known species of speedwell. I received mine as a seller's alternate from High Country Gardens, and for many years had no idea what it was other than a veronica of some sort. Veronica armena forms a low, thick carpet of soft lobed leaves, and its bright blue flowers are some of the earliest in my garden every year. Honeybees will take nectar from it but I've only ever seen native bees gathering its pollen. If snow storms haven't destroyed the blossoms, spring trees such as crabapples (also quite xeric) provide more abundant food, so honeybee sightings on V. armena (or even dandelions) are infrequent, making this ground cover perfect for edging walkways (i.e.: there's no fear of a bee flying up your pant leg).

Looking a little blue on a rare overcast day, Armenian Speedwell dukes it out with Dragon's Blood sedum and hens-'n-chicks among the stone steps on a south slope. It doesn't get any more challenging than this!

Extremely drought tolerant, this evergreen creeper grows happily with gravel mulch, between flagstones, on level or sloped ground, all without a care. After its profuse 3-week long bloom period in May, I like to deadhead it to tidy things up but it's not necessary. I often see birds picking at the spent flower stems, looking for nesting material.

A cool blue companion for Stachys byzantina.

leaf detail

flower detail

It may be a while before I post again. It's getting harder and harder to maintain a beekeeping blog without actually keeping bees. Damn anaphylaxis. So before I sign off, one last pearl of wisdom: Swallows = Swarming. When the swallows return to play in the streams of Denver metro traffic, swarm season in upon us. Next time you're stuck at an intersection, put down the phone, watch the swallows playfully fly and plan out your next hive inspection with swarm control in mind. TTFN

Xeriscape Plant Profile: Rock Soapwort

Mocha the Sacred Birman in the Riparian Garden

These mounds of pink flowers, Saponaria ocymoides, started their life in Colorado as mail order plugs. They survived the shipping undamaged but were so small I seriously doubted their success. It turns out that Rock Soapwort is a vigorous grower, and they established themselves easily on this unwatered hillside. The evergreen groundcover is loved by pollinators, and I end up having to deadhead constantly. It's as easy as grabbing handfuls of seed heads and, with a flick of the wrist, pulling them all off.

The plant's name is derived from the Latin words for "soap" and "sap". I don't like the sticky feeling but execute the deadheading barehanded, because for some reason I can't get the flick right with gardening gloves on. I am ruthless but the tiny black seeds invariably make their way between stone steps or into the gravel mulch, and I discover volunteers here and there every year. In the video below, the rock soapwort is duking it out with another xeric groundcover blooming at this time, Chinese Mountain Stonecrop.

Despite never being irrigated, the Rock Soapwort must produce a lot of nectar, as it draws the attention of hummingbird moths and it's always covered with bees.

Whitelined Sphinx Moth

Xeriscape Plant Profile: Silver-edged Horehound

It's the leaves of this xeric ground cover that people find attractive but it's the inconspicuous white flowers that the bees love, as they do any in the mint family. In the Backyard, Silver-Edged Horehound (Marrubium rotundifolium) is planted next to some Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) and is almost easy to overlook. Like the Lamb's Ear, the leaves are pale green with white fuzz but while the Lamb's Ear is an aggressive spreader, the horehound maintains it's tidy 2-foot square area in the garden. It is mat-forming, less than a foot high even in flower, so enjoys a front-edge-of-the-garden place where it can be enjoyed. It thrives in the full Colorado sun, heat and dryness, although its position at the edge of the garden means that it occasionally gets supplemental moisture from watering the lawn.

No frame. No filter. Can you guess today's #photojojomacro?

A photo posted by BBHB (@backyardbee) on May 30, 2014 at 2:17pm PDT

Happily the rabbits are not interested in it and this one is over 15 years old, proving that it is a long-lived perennial. This particular clump has been moved a couple of times, so it's doesn't mind being transplanted. I don't think it's picky about soil either but whenever I dig a new hole, I remove some of the clay (I can't stand our native soil) and I work in some compost and a sprinkling of HydroSource. I firmly believe in these water-absorbing crystals to both absorb inordinate amounts of water when it rains (because if it rains it POURS here) and to release that precious moisture when the heat comes (which it does with equal vengeance). The horehound takes the wild swings completely unfazed.

Other xeric plants that make great pairings with it include deep-green leaved Salvia × sylvestris 'May Night', less intense in presence Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens', and the 2015 Perennial Plant of the Year, Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’. They all bloom later, a good distraction from the need to deadhead the horehound, and the bees love them all.

The light on an unusual overcast day brings out blue tones in the leaves.

If you can't find it at Timberline Gardens or your local nursery, a great mail order source is High Country Gardens.

Out usual full sun brings out a warmer color tone. At Kendrick lake it is paired with a creeping veronica.

Birmans

Rabbitbrush

Chamisa in bloom at Bluff Lake Nature Center

I took this photo last year, and the scene looked pretty much identical this weekend. What I noticed this year, though, is the intense aroma of the rabbitbrush. The air was saturated with the smell of socks at the bottom of the hamper. Which brings me to a small correction.

While picking up my flattened-to-the-ground goldenrod, I selected a few stalks to bring inside. It's actually quite a nice cut flower, lasting several days inside easily. But yesterday afternoon, I smelled that smell. In the house. It was just like the rabbitbrush. Experienced beekeepers often say that goldenrod honey smells like gym socks, and so I stuck my nose into the vase full of flowers. Then spent the next 5 minutes sneezing uncontrollably. So, goldenrod pollen does indeed cause autumn allergies... if you stick your face in it.

Goldenrod

This is what I ordered.

This is what is growing.

Solidago 'Wichita Mountains' is supposed to grow to 30". Ours is 48" and loosely floriferous. It doesn't particularly like being planted on a slope, and high winds the other day laid it flat to the ground which, being downhill, resulted in both clumps being uprooted. When the rain/snow stops, I'll go fix that.

I can't figure out how HCG managed to take a picture without a single bee in it, because they clearly love goldenrod. It is an important late season source of both nectar and pollen. The bees are feverishly making as much honey as they can, to take them through Winter. And packing away pollen, too, so that it will be available in February when the Queen is actively laying again yet no fresh pollen (baby food) will be available.

Speaking of goldenrod pollen... if you're thinking, "Goldenrod? Just looking at it makes me sneeze," think again. It's actually ragweed that causes Autumn allergies, as it's pollen takes to the air easily. Goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky making it not readily airborne. It's almost as if it were designed for the bees to collect and disseminate.

If you're into flower gardening and honeybees, I highly recommend Solidago 'Wichita Mountains'. It doesn't need much water, takes full sun, and is freely flowering at a time when little else is. Its spiked, usually upright form looks great with densely mounded purple New England Aster, another honeybee favorite. Just remember, it's a back-of-the garden type of plant that will need to be cut down each year to keep it tidy.

Mock Orange

Loving the Mockorange

For years, the city has struggled with what to plant at City Center Park. Although not irrigated, the west side is sloped and washes out whenever we get rain. (Generally, when it rains it POURS here.) The various mulches they've tried have invariably ended up all over the walking path surrounding the pond. The mulch is critical to any plants success, though, as we only get 14 inches of rain a year, if that. Like me, the city is on a quest to use only xeriscape plants, and I think they've hit the jackpot with mockoranges. The 5 or 6 shrubs not only are thriving, the bees are loving them!

What's Blooming in the 'hood
LINDENS, yellow sweet clover and alfalfa - oh the honey that must be being made!!
These are some of my favorite perennial pairings going gangbusters right now:
'Hidcote' lavender and foxtail lilies
rocky mountain penstemon and 'Arizona Sun' gaillardia
catmint and jupiter's beard
purple sage and 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies

A Study in Pink

This poor evening primrose is desperate for a pollinator, so the very edges of the petals have turned pink. I've never seen this before. Normally the flower opens up at dusk, a moth visits, and the flower shrivels as it begins the task of setting seed. Each day a bud or two further along the stalk opens up to entice more moths.

Evening Primrose

The flower on the left is the "king flower" of our stand of evening primrose, and it's 3 days old! The moths don't seem to be aware of this rich nectar source yet. Subsequent blooms won't go unrequited though, as the sphinx moth in the picture below will be sure to tell friends about The Backyard.

Nessus Sphinx Moth on Soapwort

Bee flies (Bombylius major) are parasitoids, following leafcutter bees back to their nest and laying eggs there. Not only does the bee fly larva eat the provisions gathered by the leafcutter mother, it also eats the leafcutter bee egg or larva.

Honey bee on 'Rose Queen' sage which, unlike 'Mainacht', adorns the bees' heads with pollen.

Bumble Bee on 'Biokovo' Hardy Geranium

Orange Belted Bumble Bee on Buckeye Tree carrying orange-belted pollen!

Ultragreen Sweat Bee on Jupiter's Beard (Catmint in the bkgd)

Morrison's Bumble Bee Sleeping on Late Lilac

Focusing on honeybees for a moment, they will forage on most of these flowers but not all. The exceptions are those with nectaries too deep for the honeybee proboscis: the evening primrose and the lilac. There's a good shot showing the long tongue of a White Lined Sphinx Moth in the What's Blooming web album (in the Gallery) but I've got a great one archived. I'll post it later when I'm not at work ;)