At the University of California Native Bee Garden

Honey bee on a sunflower

Yesterday we went to a talk and guided tour of the Urban Bee Lab Experimental Garden in Berkeley. Docent Carol was full of information and interesting facts about California native bees.

88 different kinds of bees have been observed in the Berkeley and Albany area!

The garden is the first of its kind in California, designed and planted in 2003 by Dr. Gordon Frankie. Its original goal was to evaluate the attractiveness to native bees of local Bay Area plants. There are also some non-native plants. The project and statewide survey show that native bees prefer native plants.

A bee (I forget what kind it was because it moved so quickly) on California Buckwheat

The garden is not open to the public, but you can take a guided tour. For more information about this, and to learn more about gardening for native bees, or support the Urban Bee Lab, visit their website at http://helpabee.org