Were you a recent visitor to the Urban Garden Center and the recipient of a Bee Hui seed packet and brochure?

The seeds included are from Johnny's Bee Feed Mix, intended to provide bee forage for a variety of solitary bees, as well as honey bees, year round. This includes a mix of perennial and re-seeding annuals. Flowering species may include:

• Agastash foeniculum - Anise Hyssop (P)
• Aster novae-angliae - New England Aster (P)
• Callistephus chinensis - China Aster (A)
• Cheiranthus allionii - Siberian Wallflower (P)
• Coreopsis lanceolata - Lanceleaf Coreopsis (P)
• Coreopsis tinctoria - Plains Coreopsis (A)
• Cynoglossum amabile - Chinese Forget-Me-Not (B)
• Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower (P)
• Erigeron speciosus - Fleabane (P)
• Eschscholzia californica - California Poppy (A)
• Gaillardia pulchella - Indian Blanket (A)
• Gilia capitata - Globe Gilia (A)
• Layia platyglossa - Tidy Tips (A)
• Linum perenne - Blue Flax (P)
• Lobularia maritima - Sweet Alyssum (A)
• Monarda fistulosa - Bergamot (P)
• Nemophila menziesii - Baby Blue-Eyes (A)
• Papaver rhoeas - Corn Poppy (A)

Are you the lucky recipient of a 2021 Hawaii Master Gardener Pollinator seed packet? Read on to learn more about the flowers included in your seed packet!

 Seeds are all non-GMO, and were purchased from Johnny's Selected Seeds

There are two varieties of basil (Ocimum basilicum) included in your seed packets:

                       Compact Genovese basil                                                        Thai basil

While grown for their aromatic leaves, when left to bolt basil is highly attractive to foraging bees. These tiny black seeds are easy to grow, but basil plants are susceptible to a number of plant diseases in Hawaii. Click here to learn more about these diseases and how to control them. You can expect to see honey bees, carpenter bees, and leafcutter or mason bees (Megachilidae) visiting these flowers, as well as other smaller bees. 

 Borage (Borago officinalis) is included in your seed packet:

Both the leaves and flowers are edible, with a mild cucumber flavor. Bees love them too - expect to see carpenter bees, honey bees, and leafcutter bees visiting these flowers!

 Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is included in your seed packet: 

Buckwheat flowers are highly attractive to honey bees, producing lots of nectar and pollen provisions - when foraging in buckwheat, honey bees produce a very dark honey. Due to the open shape of the flowers, this plant will be visited by a number of smaller bees in addition to honey bees. Plants flower shortly after germination, and continue flowering as the plants grow, making this a long-lived flowering resource for pollinators and other beneficial insects in your garden. These readily reseed in a location, so consider trimming the plants back before they set seed. The medium sized triangular seeds themselves can be ground into an edible flour for baking. For more information on growing buckwheat in Hawaii, click here!

 There are three varieties of marigolds (Tagetes tenuifolia) included in your seed packets: 

                        Tangerine Gem                                                   Lemon Gem                                                               Red Gem

 Also known as signet marigolds, these flowers are highly attractive pollen sources for bees of all sizes as well as a variety of other beneficial garden insects, such as ladybugs, hover flies (which are predaceous as larvae), butterflies, parasitic wasps, and other predatory insects. Both the flowers and leaves are edible, and provide a colorful addition to salads! Some varieties of marigolds are also known to be toxic against soil pathogenic nematodes, which damage a number of plants. Interspersing marigolds throughout your garden may help to keep these soil pests under control as well.

 There are four varieties of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) included in your seed packets:

               Big smile sunflower                                 Chocolate sunflower                                Florenza sunflower                                Holiday sunflower

These sunflowers are rich pollen producers, and highly attractive to multiple species of bees that are encountered in home gardens. Bees obtain the protein necessary to rear their young solely from pollen. Expect to see female solitary bees provisioning their nests from blooming sunflowers. To encourage larger solitary bee populations in your home garden, provide bee hotels for nesting females, as they do not forage far from their nests. Honey bees will also visit sunflowers for both nectar and pollen. These varieties also make beautiful cut flower bouquets. These seeds are the largest in your seed packets, so are easy to pick out. Click here for more information on sunflower seed germination and care.