"[tell] them not to kill all the flowering "weeds" in their own yards" 

  

"Plant flowers that attract bees. Avoid spraying insecticides." 

  

"...stop using chemical lawn care!  A lush, green lawn maintained by fertilizer and herbicides is no friend of the honey bee.  Dandelions, white Dutch clover and other lawn "weeds" are signs of a healthy, happy lawn.  A weedy lawn is the buffet table at which out bees eat!" 

  

  

I love this suggestion, and have implemented it for several years, yet in the neighborhoods in which we live a bias against this activity definitely exists. In fact, one business I pass on my daily commute (a Zen-like Asian Spa along the main street in a local town) has purposely let their frontage go wild, with a sign out front that read "Stop asking me to mow. This is natural." (or something to that effect. After 3 months I guess they felt they had gotten their point across, and took it down). 

  

On the homefront, we've reached a happy compromise with our neighbors. I have a well-manicured front lawn, while my back yard is a meadow. The two bellwether hives I maintain on my property continue to produce well (4 honey supers from one of them this year) and my neighbors don't moan to me about property values. It also helps that we have a park within a quarter mile or so that has a wide swath of naturalized landscape. The goldenrod is flourishing nicely right now. 

  

One added advantage that we have as beekeepers is sharing the wealth. A pound or two of honey on either side, as well as some produce from the garden during the summer, go a long way toward keeping those neighbors happy. And quiet. 

  

S 

  

Skillman, NJ

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