A greenhouse operator near Saginaw, Michigan, has an idea that he thinks may help the stressed-out honeybees — a “honey trail” of high-nectar crops.

If the bees have an ample supply of forage throughout the season, as John Dusek sees it, the colonies will be stronger and better able to deal with pests, disease, pollution, disturbance, and all the other stresses of modern hive life.

“The concept of a honey trail is to map out an area of what’s flowering during specific times,” Dusek said.

“If you know what’s in bloom when, you also know when the gaps are, and that’s the times when we want to take the high nectar producing plants and plant them closer to the hives.”

Dusek hopes to get started planting a honey trail in his area this summer, with the help of a troop of Girl Scouts and the support of Terry M. Klein, owner of T.M. Klein & Sons Honey Farms, the vice-president of the Michigan Beekeepers Association.

Dusek makes the point that homeowners often plant special gardens for hummingbirds and butterflies. But there is still not a widespread understanding of the importance of pollination, and that the honeybee is “a docile creature that wants to do its job and go home.”

With all the media attention given to honeybees in recent months, however, the public perception of bees may be changing for the better. With any luck at all, perhaps the honey trail could be the next big fad in gardening!

See also:
• Idea blossoms to help stressed-out honeybees (MLive.com)
• Gardeners can help save honeybees (Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC)