an excess of success

I like that idea, Fran. So simple and efficient :)
However, I have another problem - how to get rid of mason bees from my garden...:)

Hi Fran
I looked at the link ... interesting and fascinating ..

would it help to put the feeder somewhere out of your garden, Kat? would that distract them?

agreed, TT, so simple, once someone else ha's done it!

Yes.. a clever idea :o)

What a simply brilliant idea, I will definitely give that a try next spring/summer. Now who do I know who has a yellow shirt? :)

lol Gee, I was thinkigg of checking out my local charity shop. The material she used looks a bit open weave, so maybe I'll check that aspect out, too. Not sure if there's any particular shade of yellow, I assume the brighter the better; and ned some red for a base, as she did.

lol we have the makings of an experiment here - which of what works best??

Fran, I am afraid they cannot do honey without my walls, lol.

Looks great. Well done you for rearching something for the bees.

They are having such a hard time at the moment, and numbers are falling. So it is nice to see people who really care.

They sure are, Alex - I've got several documentaries on bees, their sudden decline and the possible reasons for it - lol and there was the theme in Doctor Who about the bees disappearing. Think it was Einstein who said that the human race will only last four years after the bees go.

what a coincidence that this drastic collapse of bee populations started just after they started using a new kind of pesticide, one that, rather than lying on the plant surface, is taken into the plant, and therefore into the pollen!

I've found plenty of butterfly and hummingbird nectar feeders, but bee feeders seem to be a lot rarer - the only "proper" ones I've found seem to be for clipping on to hives, which would limit their usefullness in non-apiary circles.

I've got packs of seeds for bee-friendly and butterfly-friendly plants, and nowhere to plant 'em - doubt there;d be much point in just growing a few in a couple of pots - the packs are meant for meadows.

I did put some of them up on my "seeds to give away", and thought they'd be the first to be asked for, but I've still got 'em. So if anyone's got the space, I've got the seeds, just ask!

Fran, I remember that episode of Doctor Who. Alos, you could still put some seeds in pots. It is better than nothing, and the bees will still visit, and I'm sure the pots will look great.

I wouldn't mind some seeds though.

lol Alex, if you PM me your address I'll send some - won't arrive soon, because of Crimbo and New Year, but will get there eventually.

I've got a Just Bee Mix and a Just Butterfly Mix - also got others going spare, left over from my giveaway earlier this year, if you'd be interested - some of these packs are a b it old, I don't know if the seeds are still viable, but they're still sealed, so maybe worth trying if you've room to spare.

rather than list them all here, here's a link to my "anyone want any seeds?" blog - I scanned the packs in so people could see what was going. I took out the names of the ones that had been taken, so any named packs are still spare - just checked and all that's named on the blog is here on my desk, sigh

http://www.growsonyou.com/franl155/blog/20249-anyone-want-some-seeds

Thanks Fran.