Bee Hotels 

Most gardeners I know are very aware of the decline of pollinators, and many have made an effort to increase the nectar sources in their gardens available to these insects. However, some of my gardener friends are less aware how the loss of available habitat compounds the environmental challenges these bees face. In fact,  the  compulsiveness of gardeners to tidy  up their beds every years adds to this problem.

Loss of habitat particularly affects  native bee species. Most of these bees are vey small and live solitary lives. Seventy percent (70%) of them burrow into the ground and thirty percent (30%) tunnel  into the stems of herbaceous plants to lay their eggs for next year's generation while a few choose to bore into soft woods. 

Here are a few ways backyard gardeners can make the lives of these little critters  that are looking to make a homestead a little easier  by: 

Bee hotel awaiting guests.

Planting more native plants (although nectar is nectar, native bees really need the native plants  with which they evolved in order to leave a posterity); 

Delaying cleanup of native plants at the end of the season until later next spring (e.g. leave that milkweed, goldenrod or blackeyed-Susan stalk alone); 

Installing a few bee hotels around your gardens. These can be made from scrape wood. The hotels I make combine soft woods and the stems of herbaceous plants.  The bees don't mind living shoulder to shoulder with different bee species; and, most importantly, they are not aggressive either to their neighbors or to you.

Reducing the expanse of lawns by utilizing more native plantings, especially ground covers, and increasing areas for  leaf litter and other detritus.

For more information about bee hotels, see this document from Michigan State University.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Lingonberry or cowberry)

Recently I've been thinking  about how I can reduce the size of my  small lawn and make our landscaping  more environmentally friendly. In deference to my neighbors, I don't feel compelled (yet)  to create another vegetable patch in my front yard, but adding native plants that might also provide something edible   would be ideal. 

After exploring various options, I've determined  that  Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Lingonberries) might be the answer. It occurs naturally in northern parts of North America and Scandinavia; and as an evergreen growing only to 12 - 18 " in height,  lingonberry  would compliment the rhododendrons and mountain laurels  already thriving in front of the house. 

I considered its cousins, Vaccinium macrocarpon (American cranberry) and Vaccinium crassifoliuim (Creeping blueberry), but these are unsuited for my location.  American cranberry needs a bog environment that ideally has layers of sand and peat to survive, and creeping blueberry seems relegated to the milder climes of the southeastern states.  The Albany Pinebush might be for it suitable, but our winters are still too severe.

As a member of the genus Vaccinium, like blueberries, lingonberries need well drained acidic soil. A check of soil pH showed that my laurels are now growing in moderately acidic soil (pH 5.6 - 5.8)  while and the immediately adjacent  lawn area is slightly acidic (pH 6.4 - 6.5). Given these values, I plan to increase the acidity in the lawn area simply by adding peat moss  into the soil along with  sand to improve soil drainage. In the long haul, I will continue to add coffee grounds and Christmas tree needles as part of my mulching regime.  As for being edible, although lingonberries are part of Scandinavian cuisine,  I'm just hoping that some native fauna will take a liking to them.   For more information about growing lingonberries, see this  website by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.