Bee Help?

I posted about this in the honeybee forum thought I might ask here as well. I had a wonderful honeybee experience this past week. (you can read about it on my blog www.logsendliving.blogspot.com if you are interested in the details). In any event this experience made me very, very interested in starting the hobby of keeping bees. I know that I have lots of reading, research and probably some classes in my future before this adventure will begin. So in the meantime I really want to bump up the bee favored plants in my gardens. I've been searching on the net for information and can only find bits and pieces. I've read that natives are better than not, that red isn't a color they really see, that double flowers and hybrids aren't good choices, but there aren't any list really of plants. It's funny all these years I've been gardening and most of the plants were for butterflies and hummingbirds and not so much focus on the bees! I must admit to being very ashamed of myself for making bees an after thought because these little pollinators are mighty important!

So any and all help, comments are would be welcome!

TIA!
Angie

I would buy your honey.
Local honey is great for allergies.

Milkweed (wild) is LOVED by bumblebees in my garden. How about elderberry? I think I've seen elder flower honey.
The most bee-type things I've seen is around the clusters of bloom on Devils Walking stick trees. Couds of bees and wasps of every size! Maybe cuz they like it and cuz there are zillions of blooms in them. Not trying to toot my horn but
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1764/

I'm noticing that all of these have clustters of tiny white flowers.
Edit--Sunflowers get lots of honeybess in my yard. Maybe Beebalm?
I just found this link in an article by Jill, ; have you seen this? U of Georgia
http://www.ent.uga.edu/bees/pollination/plants_forage.htm

This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 7:15 AM

If I let my mints go to flower they are all over them and they really like the flowers on my Holly bushes. You can plant and keep patches of clover for them but be very careful walking though it once it flowers.

Did you see this article when you were searching?
http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants

I was going to suggest beebalm too because the name perhaps means it's something bees like. I see it's on the list in the article.

The bees just go crazy when my old crabapple is in bloom. If you have room, maybe a crab or regular apple trees or other fruit trees?

There is an apiary (bee farm) associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. In the past it has been a valuable beekeeping resource for citizens of the state. Contact your county's extension office to get details.

Angie---

And to save you time--here is the phone # of the U. of MD Extension Service----1-800-342-2507

And--her is their e-mail: www.agnr.umd/users/hgic