How I Got Started

I started Butterfly gardening many years ago. My yard has been a progression over the years, and has made many transformations. Twenty years ago I experienced Hurricane Andrew. My yard and house were destroyed. We decided not to replace the pool screening and open up the backyard and put in some landscaping. That was the official beginning of my love for gardening in South Florida. I added a beautiful water garden years ago, and have been adding host and larvae plants for pollinators, mostly for the butterfly, for as many years as I can remember. I had my yard certified as a Natural Habitat, through the National Wildlife Foundation. To have a natural habitat you need to provide and meet certain requirements: 1. Provide a food source, 2. Provide a water source, 3. Cover, 4. A place to raise young. I try not to use any pesticides in my yard. I vermicompost and recycle as many of my food scraps as possible. If I had more land I would have a huge compost bin to recycle all my yard cuttings. Basically, I try to lessen my carbon footprint on this earth. In my own little world or backyard I try to provide an ecosystem in my water garden, provide birdbaths, birdfeeders, hummingbird nectar sources, feeders, puddling areas, host plants and nectar plants for butterflies and other pollinators. I am hoping to raise everyone’s awareness of the importance of saving our Butterflies, Blooms & Bees. Without them our world and food source will be in trouble. I hope you all enjoy my journey. I am not a Master Gardener, or Master Beekeeper, an Entomologist, or Journalists. I am simply a Backyard Gardener who is trying to lessen her Carbon Footprint of this Earth.

I hope you enjoy my blogs.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Bees Arrive Tonight


 I am excited and nervous all at the same time.  My bees are arriving this evening.  I’m getting my bees through Sam Comfort from Anarchy Apiaries http://anarchyapiaries.org/.  Sam is an amazing person, a non-conformist, as you can tell by his website name. If you want to learn more about Sam and his beekeeping just Google his name.  You will find many YouTube videos with Sam talking about his journey with keeping bees.  Sam has been keeping bees for many years and has seen the progression and destruction of our honeybees through all the pesticides, not only are the pesticides being used to treat the parasites that are affecting our bees, but the pesticides that are being used on our food source that our bees pollinate.  He has been involved with migratory beekeeping, and after having many hives die, decided to raise his bee’s treatment free.   He has been raising his own queens and keeping those bees that have survived.  He has specifically raised his bees with genetic qualities for survival.  Sam is known for his Top Bar Hive Beekeeping (TBH).  I am glad that I found Sam because I feel that I am getting the type of bees that I have been looking for.  They are Small Cell (SC), no chemicals in his hives, etc.  I have spent most of the day trying to decide where in my yard is the sunniest place for the bees.  I think I have found the perfect place.  It is also a little hidden so my kids don’t freak out when they come home.  I am feeling a little intimidated and unsure of my skills as a beekeeper, but I am sure I will learn in time.  

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