Harmonia Blog

Just One Marigold

Our lavender bushes which had so many bee visitors during the last few months were no longer in flower and so it was time to plant some more flowers to feed the bees.

I love to watch the bees go about their business collecting pollen and distributing it to other plants.  Their gentle hum on a summer’s day is intoxicating and for me eating honey that they create is both nurturing and healing. Observing bees is like seeing nature unfold before your eyes.

Off I went to the garden centre on Sunday and as generally happens when I am around fellow gardeners and those who love flowers I got into conversation with a lovely lady who was selecting a Marigold. She told me that she was planting it to attract bees and then she added rather sorrowfully “that is if you can find one”. She sounded really sad that there were so few bees around, but she was doing her bit to help their numbers increase.

Wow I thought, she is making a difference to our world by just planting one Marigold, imagine if we all planted one bee loving flower what a difference we could make to the planet.

Just One Marigold

So I had this idea to spread the word and invite you to make a difference by just planting one flower to attract the bees back into our gardens, patios, balconies, anywhere you can think of to plant a bee loving flower. 

So if you already have a garden then consider planting one more plant or if you haven’t planted a bee attracting flower before then take action now.

I am sure that everyone has a space for one flower, in a pot on your balcony, in a tub on the deck - and watch out for the bees and when they come to you say thank you to them for all the work they do for us humans! We can learn much from them.

Here are some suggestions for the types of plants that bees love - they can be herbs too and then you will have them to use to enhance your food by cooking with them, adding to salads or making yummy herbal teas.  It is not my image so thank you to the person who created it - I came across it on Facebook.

You can add Lavender to your bath water to help you relax and unwind or put  a sprig under your pillow at night time to encourage restful sleep. There are so many ways that nature helps us, so how about helping nature? Think of it as 'A Gift for a Gift.'

Here in New Zealand there are also our wonderful native plants such as Pohutukawa, Native Flax, Cabbage Tree, Lacebark, Rewarewa,  Manuka and Kanuka to name but a few.

We can create a rich environment for the bees so easily by making a commitment to plant just one more bee loving flower.

As we become healthier so does our immediate environment and ultimately our planet

It might take Just One Marigold to make all the difference to your life and to the life of many others.

Happy planting and bee watching!

Much love

Tessa

"And now we find the Goddess re-emerging from the forests and mountains, bringing us hope for the future, returning us to our most ancient human roots" - Maria Gimbutas

Tessa Jonassen is a nature lover and works to heal herself and others with the gifts from nature.

http://www.harmonia.co.nz/index.html