Posts Tagged: aster

Fall is for Planting: Six Hard-to-Find Bee Plants That Are Worth the Chase

While most folks don't want to have to search down plants for their garden, some of us avid gardeners love the chase. Here are profiles of some great bee plants that, despite being easy to grow in most of California, can be difficult to find for sale. To add these to your garden you'll likely need...

Fall Color at the Haven

Ask most folks about "fall color" and they'll picture trees turning shades of red, orange, and yellow.  Here at the Haven, on the other hand, we think about all the plants that will bloom until frost. These provide honey bees with critical late-season honey-making resources; other bees and...

Gearing Up for Winter

There's a magnificent purple aster blooming in the bee yard at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis.The aster, a late-bloomer, makes for a picture-perfect apiary scene...white bee boxes in the background...purple aster in the foreground...and the...

Purple asters

PURPLE ASTERS bloom brilliantly at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. In the back are the bee boxes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee on purple aster

HONEY BEE nectars purple aster at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Upside down

UPSIDE DOWN, a honey bee sips nectar from a purple aster. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Zinnias! Zinnias! Zinnias!

Honey bees foraging on zinnias? Yes. It's not considered a "bee plant" like the salvias, lavenders and mints, but bees do forage on it occasionally. The genus, from the aster family (Asteraceae), derives its name from the German botanist, Johann Gottfried Zinn. At the Hoes Down Harvest Festival...

Honey Bee on Zinnia

FORAGER--A honey bee forages on a zinnia, a colorful flower that's a member of the aster family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

At Work

AT WORK--A honey bee nectaring a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up

CLOSE-UP--Pollen clings to the head, abdomen and thorax of a honey bee as she forages in a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Something Quite Magical

There's something so magical and captivating about the metallic green sweat bee.Shouldn't it be yellow? No.Is it a bee? Yes.Does it attract attention? Definitely.We spotted this male green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, on what is commonly known as a Seaside daisy, Erigeron glaucus Wayne Roderick....

Green Metallic Sweat Bee

THIS MALE green metallic sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, is nectaring a Seaside daisy, the Erigeron glaucus Wayne Roderick. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Going Up

SHOWING ITS STRIPES, the male green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, climbs up a Seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus Wayne Roderick). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Eyes Have It

EYES of the metallic green sweat bee are clearly visible in this photo of a bee nectaring an aster. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more