Honey Bees in the Garden: January

Right now it doesn't seem possible that any plants will be blooming since Old Man Winter has most of the earth in his cold grip, but Mother Nature is slowly waking the earth up and soon flowers will be blooming all over the place.

 Gardeners are busy planning their gardens for the year , pursuing garden catalogs, researching soil, water, light and space requirements of the plants they want to grow.  While they are doing their dreaming and researching, I hope they will add some plants that will benefit the honey bees in their area.  

Below is a short list of plants that are beneficial to honey bees.  These plants begin blooming in January.  If you already have some of these plants in your garden, on the next day the temperature rises to 50*F or above, go check them for honey bees. They might be busy harvesting the pollen or nectar. 

Lungwort Pollen

Mahonia Nectar an d Polle n   

Snowdrops Nectar and Pollen

Winter Aconite Nectar and Pollen

Snow Crocus Nectar and Pollen

There are other plants that also benefit honey bees.   Some of them are still blooming.  A few of them are viburnum, lungwort, pansy, hellebore, witch hazel, heath and spring cherry. 

So, how many plants in your garden are going to feed your local honey bees this month? 

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons