Apartment Therapy Re-Nest | Grow Sunflowers, Support Bees

Grow Sunflowers, Support Bees

Sunset reminds us that planting a few sunflowers in the yard can help bees. Sunflowers are great for gardeners like us who have never had much of a green thumb, as they don't need much care. Plus, there's near immediate gratification, with growth from zero to ten feet in a couple of weeks.

Even better? You can get seeds and help support the dwindling bee population -- all for free -- by taking part in a good cause.

Scientists at San Francisco State University are asking people to plant sunflowers and spend half an hour observing them twice a month to see what kind of bees are hanging out in your area.

Click over to Sunset to read more about the project and find out how to get a free packet of seeds in the mail.

image via Sunset article linked above

Comments (2)

I never really thought about the effect of having sunflowers on bees. I'm growing sunflowers at work (I have much more sun) but I'm going to try and make sure to set them outside and see if they get any bee action.

posted by http://badhuman.wordpress.com on March 25th 2008 at 11:11am
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An added benefit of growing sunflowers is the plant's ability to absorb heavy metal pollutants from the soil and air around it (http://www.treepower.org/news/nyttreesphyto.html). Just don't eat the seeds.

posted by verasue on March 25th 2008 at 12:18pm
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