> Funny I wonder how many guerilla bee forage planters are out there.
>  I have salt shakers filled with seeds that go with me on dog walks.
> white clover , birdsfoot trefoil, sweet clover, and anise hyssop
 
AARGH!  This is the botanical equivalent of releasing African bees
all over the place.   (sound of botanist quietly sobbing and banging
head on table...)
 
Yes, those are good bee forage, but most of them aren't native to North
America (anise hyssop is), and if you're merrily tossing sweet clover or
bft or dutch clover seed into the ditches and bare spots and dog walking
areas, you *might* be undoing some hard labor attempting to re-establish
native vegetation in that area.  I can't begin to count the number of
hours I've spent pulling and roundup-ing introduced legumes and grasses in
prairies and prairie roadsides, where we're trying to encourage diversity
of native plants (which will also pay off for beekeepers in the long run).
 
Please, before you seed, call your county and state department of
transportation/road engineers/fish and wildlife/parks people and see
if there's a native vegetation management plan in place for your area.
 
And if they don't have such a plan, ask them "why not?"  It's good for
roadside vegetation management (mowing and pesticide use is reduced or
eliminated), good for taxes (decreased costs in the long run), good for
wildlife (lots more habitat), good for biological diversity (which means
more spots for more and different kinds of native critters, including our
native bees), etc., etc.  Many of the midwestern states have such
management plans, and the idea is catching on rapidly.
 
In fact, many of the roadside programs would be willing to supply you
with small amounts of "good for bees native plant seeds" for you to
plant in roadsides.
 
Kay Lancaster    [log in to unmask]