Florida Weeds For Bees and Pollinators

Attract and help pollinators by simply letting some Florida native “weeds” grow in the yard. Many are easy to get along with and very pretty.

Once again I am preaching about leaving weeds growing in the yard and garden. I’ve found that flowering “weeds” feed the bees best. I’ve tried to buy plants at the local nursery to feed beneficial insects. Some die, and they need attention to flourish. Deadheading, watering, weeding, and pruning are not needed for “weeds”, unless you want to keep them under control.

The most beneficial plants for pollinators are the weeds. They are lurking along the pathways, and sprout up willy nilly in the grassy areas. This is where I find the bees. Before the lot next door was cleared, it contained lots of wildflowers. The seeds would drift into my garden. I’ve decided to let some grow.

Lilac Tasselflower

lilac tasselflower
Fluffy seed heads
lilac tasselflower weed
Edge of walkway
bee on tassel flower
Bee on flower

The Lilac Tasselflower has a cool name. The small plant reminds me of a very tiny thistle without the thorns. The flowers turn into fluffy dandelion-looking heads. And the bees are on those flowers all the time. Thanks to those fly-away seeds, this plant grows everywhere. It doesn’t bother me at all so I let it grow.

More weed flowers found in the Fall yard – not sure of the names but the red one is a red tasselflower, I think.

florida wildflower with yellow center and white
red tasselflower

White Flowering Weed – Spanish Needles, or Beggarticks aka Biden’s Alba

Bee on beggartick plant
Beggartick flowers
A bee perched on a white and yellow flower surrounded by green foliage.
Bees love this little white flower

The Beggartick is prevalent and spreads readily – therefore it can be annoying. The plant grows tall and has many tiny white flowers that attract beneficial bees and butterflies. BUT… it has loads of sticky seeds that attach to clothing and sometimes animal fur. Those seeds create lots of new baby plants, which makes it difficult to keep this plant under control.

Now that I can recognize it, I will pull up the little plants before they get big and annoying. However, I do allow some to grow. Even the larger plants are easy to pull up. They grow year round.

Flowering Weeds in the Summer Yard

All summer long insects are all over the tiny white flowers on the creeping groundcover called Tropical Mexican Clover (center image below). This one dies back in cool months.

florida weed
Name?
A garden scene featuring lush green plants growing along a stone border, with a background of mulch and other garden plants.
Tropical Mexican clover
purple spiderwort with bee
Spiderwort – big fave of bees
A lush garden path lined with greenery, featuring a concrete block amidst various plants and bright yellow flowers.
Tall weed – name?
Spanish Needle
Spanish Needle / Beggartick

The Beautyberry bush is also a Florida native that may spring up in your yard if another is close by. I had bees at those flowers the entire time they bloomed. This bush grows fast and has long stems filled with flowers and then purple berries.

Beautyberry bush stem of berries
July berry stem on Beautyberry
Beautyberry bush flowers
May flowers on the Beautyberry bush

Keep it Simple and Native

If money is tight, there is no need to buy all kinds of plants for the beneficials. It’s okay to do that, but those plants usually require attention to grow well. I’ll just say, that if you let things grow on their own, the bees will be happy. I’ve seen the purple spiderwort for sale at local stores! It grows randomly in the yard and springs up everywhere.

Maybe as a homeowner, you might find a small area of the yard and let the weeds live.

I’m also in the (long) process of trying to fill my yard with native milkweed. The two-day freeze last winter set me back a bit, but I have new plants growing.

I know that I am asking a lot here. Many Florida homeowners have their yards sprayed with (weed and feed) fertilizer and bug killers to keep the lawn looking perfect. Lawn spraying trucks are in my neighborhood all the time.

I understand having short grass because we do have a lot of creatures that would like to hide in it. Snakes would probably love to live in an untamed yard that resembles a field – although I rarely see snakes these days.

The poisons people put all over their grass is not something I can understand. With all the over-crowding and loss of habitat, Floridians especially, should consider being more nature friendly.

A little quiz: Which landscape do you prefer and which House Would You Live In?

Cottage with flowering bushes and trees
This is far from Florida (not sure where), and so beautiful!
Florida house barren yard grass
This is a typical, rather nice, Florida house
wildflowers and bees divider

Read on about helping beneficials

Growing a New Bean; Scarlet Runner

Planting a few Scarlet Runner beans this Fall to see how they do in my Florida garden.

My Scarlet Runner bean seeds arrived today and now I need to learn how to grow them. This will be my first time growing pole beans. I didn’t want to bother trying to put up a trellis. I don’t have any wire, or a fence for them to climb.

I was under the impression that Scarlet Runner beans liked the heat of Florida, but I guess not. I’ve read conflicting advice. The Contender bush beans do not do well in heat and these must be similar.

My favorite green beans are Contender bush beans. I’ve been growing them for a few years now. They do very well in my yard in cooler weather, and are delicious.

I’ve always been intrigued by those long beans and finally decided to try some. Scarlet Runner beans will get long, therefore I won’t need to grow many to have plenty to eat. Here is a page full of good “long bean” information at IFAS – Gardening Solutions.

How I’ll Trellis My Beans

Bush beans are my favorite because they are easy. No trellising needed.

I know that a trellis, or wire to use as a trellis, can be purchased. I’ve seen photos online of those arching wire trellises that go from one raised be to another, forming a beautiful overhang of lovely vegetables. I am betting that a man set those up. Many women gardeners have a husband to do the heavy lifting and constructing, or at least they have the help. I don’t.

I also have no extra money to spend. That means I will make do and use what I have. Over winter my Passionflower vine died back and it has continued to decline. I’m not sure why, because Passionflower vines do grow here. Instead, I plan to use that obelisk to hold up my pole beans.

Is it Still Too Hot for Planting?

I planted a few Scarlet Runner beans into the fabric pot on 9/24 (7 days ago). Only one seed came up, so I replanted a few more. Now I have two plants growing. They are not growing like I expected, and that may be because it is still too hot.

Temps are close to 90 each day, with the horrible humidity that comes too. I have to water every morning because rainfall is minimal. I’ve lost the shade that came from the lot next door – because all the trees have been wiped out.

scarlet runner beans seedlings growing in a fabric pot

I’m going to save the remainder of the seeds (you don’t get a whole lot in a packet because they are big seeds) for planting in Spring.

In the meantime I will see what these do, and hope for cooler weather soon. I’ve had enough of the heat, thank you.

The Latest From My Garden…

Disgusted and Sad at My Changed Yard View

The lot next to me has been cleared and I now have no trees and a view of a muddy landscape. This changed my thoughts on gardening.

The lot next door is cleared. Even though I knew it was coming, and I know how they do it here, I am disgusted and depressed. How things can change from green and shaded and private to hot, sunny, and wide open in a matter of minutes. I have before and after photos below.

It only took a few hours for the excavator to remove all the greenery – along with perfectly good trees – from the entire lot next door. This is how they do it in the lovely state of Florida.

tree filled lot next door before clearing
All trees and greenery except for one large tree are gone

This lot is one of the few left in our vast neighborhood. Just a few years ago the land sold for $20K. Recently it sold for $70K. Now a house will go in and it will sell for probably around $400-$500K. Florida is no longer affordable, but what is worse it the total disregard for wildlife and green spaces. This happens all the time, all over the state.

Apparently there are no laws keeping companies from mowing down every living thing to build.. and build…and build. I hate it here. I live here only because I can’t afford to get out, but I hate it. Now, I hate it even more. It has affected my life in a big fat negative way.

The good news was that they left one tree at the front on our property line. It’s a beautiful oak, and I was outside ready to question the reason for removing it if that claw came close – maybe climb up and sit in it (haha). But all the other smaller trees and shrubs along the line are completely gone.

The lot being cleared is low land and water sits in there whenever we get a bunch of rain. All along the edge, between my property and theirs, is was a line of oaks and maples.

I loved one maple in particular that I discovered a few years ago when it was tangled up in vines. I pulled off the vines and the tree began to take off. It was about my height at the time, but it became very tall, as you can see in my photo below. I swear that tree grew at least five feet a year! It was beautiful.

In a matter of seconds, the orange claw (can you see it behind the greenery?) grabbed my beautiful tree and carried it off to the pile. Then, the tractor went down the line and ripped everything else out.

The maple tree with claw excavator coming in to rip it out
My side yard before the lot was cleared
BEFORE – peaceful & green
Now, with the green gone
After – open and muddy

I watched helplessly as the scoop grabbed all the banana trees in the back corner and pulled them out. Those were not mine, but they were on my property, and I had hoped some might remain. The pole in the back is the property line, and the guy came right up to the line (and sometimes over) all the way down the edge. My Moringa tree was right there – on my property, but oh so close – it still stands, thankfully. We have a great view of all our neighbors now. Goody.

garden path before the greenery was removed
Path before
garden path with greenery gone
path after

The garden will now have to adjust to a lack of shade. With the tall trees along the property line gone, the entire yard will have mostly sun all day long. Mornings used to be nice and shady and I could go out and work, but no more. I’ll have to see how much shade I get from the one tree left.

He had to leave that one big oak tree because it was “18 inches”. Gee, lucky tree.

before the land was cleared, looking back to front view
Before
After the lot was cleared out I have no privacy while I'm gardening.
After – my view now

My yard seems much smaller, and because all my privacy is gone, I’m considering moving my garden to another spot. I’ve already considered doing some new things so I don’t have to be in this part of the yard as much.

Not only have I lost my shade and privacy, once the filling of the lot starts there will be dump trucks coming in all day. Then, they will dig the footers and build the house. I’m looking at many months of noisy construction to deal with.

My only option is to move to the back by the shed, and around to the front of the house – which is the other side, opposite my garden area. Thankfully I planted shrubs along the front which gives me privacy. I’m not sure of sun out front, but I may invest in another raised bed for the area.

Pivot and Adjust

I just wrote a post on another of my blogs with this “pivot and adjust” title pertaining to my design business. Now, here I am doing the same thing with my gardening hobby.

The little area back by the shed is shady late in the day. I went out and pulled the shelving unit around from the back to the side. My new seed packets from Cody Cove Farm have arrived and been planted, so this might be a good spot to keep the seedlings as they grow. Right now I have milkweed on the shelf. The orange buckets have dirt which I dug from the empty lot next door.

Shelves by the shed with potted seedlings

At my age I certainly have learned that life throws you curve balls. I’ve had to adjust to many things over the years. This is one more small setback, but it could lead to some more interesting gardening – who knows.

Keep reading….

Horsemint Field is a Feast For Pollinators

Horsemint will spread and can become a field for pollinators in the Fall season here in Florida.

I bought a pack of horsemint seeds not realizing at the time that it is also bee balm. I grew bee balm in New Hampshire, but horsemint is different.

The northern bee balm is bright pink-red and grows in a clump. It has definite flowers and a bristly center. It grows in summer.

Horsemint grows tall and spreads by vining branches. The flowers are partially leaves that turn spotted pink and they appear in September. The part of the flower that attracts the bees is on top of the pink leaves and under the next set of leaves.

monarda bee balm flower bright pink red
Northern bee balm
tall flowering monarda bush with bright pink flowers
My yard up north
Horsemint flower is pink with spots
Horsemint bee balm

Horsemint will grow in Florida but also in zones 3-9. It can take the heat and drought conditions. It spreads like mad.

Two years ago I grew a horsemint plant in a pot from seed. I planted it into the back garden and it grew nicely. It attracted lots of bees and some butterflies. So, when it began to spread in runners I let it go – mostly. I did keep it in one area, but it spread into the lot next door too.

horsemint spread from one single plant

This year the horsemint is not a plant, it is a small field. Each stem is easy to pull up. The 3-4 foot tall stems are clustered and beginning to bloom like mad. All types of bees are on the spotted, pink flowers every day.

The stems grow until the leaves at the top turn pink. A circular section of tiny, orchid like flowers are what draws the pollinators. As the first set of “orchids” dies, more grow on the next level. It’s pretty cool. These photos were taken in September, so this is a late summer – fall flowering plant.

He’s found the pollen
Two bees on spotted horsemint flowering plant
Two bees

You can read more about growing horsemint in Florida at IFAS Gardening Solutions.

I’m not sure about the names of bees that visit my yard but the little green and yellow bee is probably a sweat bee. It just happened to be in the photo I was taking of the black bee.

Each day I have various butterflies in the yard but it’s too hot still to be outside much. I’m not sure if any of them are visiting the horsemint. The bees, of all sizes, are constantly swarming the area.

Horsemint Later in the Season

As the horsemint blooming season is winding down (first of October), the leaves have fallen and only the very top “flowers” remain. Most of those have faded, but bees are still visiting daily.

horsemint patch after shedding leaves
Lower leaves of the horsemint have fallen off.
The five tiers of the horsemint flower

Plans for a Fall Cleanup

Once the horsemint has finished blooming, I will rip a bunch of it out and cut some back. I don’t want it to take over my small garden space because I may need the area to grow some kind of food.

Horsemint could be used to fill in a garden bed and feed the bees in a Fall garden in Florida. The goal should be to have flowering plants all year round.

As I am writing this post a big excavator is next door clearing the lot. They are taking everything and my yard will not be the same.

More stories from the yard:

New Vegetable Seeds From a Local Florida Farm

I’m very excited to plant some new vegetable seeds from a local – central Florida – farm. If I can get these peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to grow, I will be very happy.

My new seeds have arrived from Cody Cove Farms. Now I need to know a little about when to plant and grow the veggies. I’ve already learned that “normal” veggies don’t like to grow in my Florida yard. It can be hard to find food I want to eat that does grow here.

The Cody Cove Farms product pages (follow the links below) have a lot of information with each item they sell. This is a farm based in central Florida, and I am thinking that if they can grow it, I can grow it. Shipping was fast, and I like that each packet has the date it was packaged.

It will be easy to find out what to do with these four seed types I bought. Follow the links I provide to their product page and see photos and read all about these vegetables.

Iquitos Sweet Pepper

According to the information for the Iquitos pepper at Cody Cove, this pepper is well suited to Florida. It comes from the rain forests of Peru. They are sweet peppers, without heat, and are very productive.

They grow well in summer.

I will plant them in pots now (Fall) and see what happens. I’m hoping for some good tasting peppers that grow without much issue. I already have cayennes, so I don’t need more hot peppers. I need flavorful peppers I can use with most everything I cook.

Peppers should grow well here, but I have a hard time. I’ve tried many varieties, and even grew a few green bell peppers, but plants don’t live long and I get very few peppers.

Iquitos sweet pepper seeds packet
bees divider

Cap 455 Pepper

Here is what Cody Cove Farm says about this pepper:  “This pepper is one hundred percent free of heat and has thick, sweet flesh.  Eating this pepper approaches the experience of eating a small bell pepper.” YES! Sounds perfect.

Grow this pepper from spring into summer. They possibly don’t like the extreme heat.

I will plant seeds now (September) in pots, to put out in spring.

CAP 455 pepper seeds package
bees

Zambian Cucumber

I can’t wait to grow this Zambian cucumber. It is such a crazy looking thing, with spikes on little round balls. It comes from Zambia, Africa and is a little known food item. It intrigues me!

This is a Spring and Fall vegetable.

I’ve had no luck growing cucumbers but maybe this variety will work for me. And hopefully I will like eating it. They say, “it tastes like a high quality cucumber”.

I need to get going and plant this one!

Zambian cucumber seeds packet
bees

ESA Tomato

The ESA tomato seeds are for yellow, cherry size tomatoes.

Typical of tomatoes, these need to grow in spring.

Tomatoes don’t like Florida heat – although I have one Everglades cherry tomato plant that is still hanging on. I get about 2 red tomatoes a week!

The ESA grows tall and sprawls – similar to Everglades it sounds like.

ESA tomato seeds packet

Seed Planting Strategy

All except the cucumber seeds need to go into small pots to get started. Since the cucumbers will grow in Fall, I will have to find a location outdoors for the seeds.

I’ve just had a complete overhaul of my yard due to the clearing of land right next door. It has thrown me off my gardening game. I no longer have any shade – as they took down every tree. It’s disgusting, but I need to adjust.

Possibly, I will dig the sweet potatoes from one of the raised beds and plant cucumbers in there. I have some work to do, but it is so hot out there.

More gardening stories for you…

Unusual and Possible New Food To Grow in My Florida Yard

Waiting for my new vegetable seeds to arrive so I can get planting.

I’m always happy to find a new source to buy seeds. Now that I know which seeds I will not bother to plant again, I want some new things to grow in my Florida yard.

I am not a big fan of some popular “southern” food – like okra. I’ve had trouble with growing alternatives to bell peppers. My space is small, so I can’t afford to take up valuable growing areas with things I don’t want to eat, or end up not growing.

Our central Florida climate makes growing food a struggle, unless you know what will work (trial and error). After a few years of growing, I am still trying to find good vegetable swaps for things I’d like to have available.

How to Find Vegetable Seeds to Grow in Our Zone

If you are just beginning to grow your own vegetables here in Florida, I suggest you search (YouTube) and blogs, where actual gardeners are growing what you would love to grow. Gardening in Florida is not easy. We deal with heat and humidity that you won’t find elsewhere in the US. We have torrential rains and baking heat. No wonder vegetables don’t want to grow!

Sometimes when you find a local grower who has success they are growing some very bizarre sounding foods. All we can do is try new things and hope we find something yummy that works.

After watching a video by Elise Pickett from The Urban Harvest where Cody Cove Farm was featured, I checked out the website. Both places are located in the central Florida area, so I tend to believe them when they have success with growing vegetables.

Embrace The Newness

So, I can’t have big round juicy “Big Boy” tomatoes, but I can have little cherry tomatoes. If I get good at it, and can find the space, I might have access to little tomatoes year round! It is the good thing about a climate like this.

Not everything will do well year round, but many vegetable plants last for years – this includes tomatoes, eggplant, and kale – to name a few.

If I want to eat closely to what I am used to, I must embrace the new foods.

New – Cucumbers

I gave up after year two when my cucumbers failed. I first planted the Suyo Long cucumbers and got one, or two, to eat. That was the year I covered the cucumbers every night and picked worms off the next morning. I had read that the moth that causes the worms does not move from the south into central Florida until later in the spring season. So, the following year I planted normal “Ashley” cukes, and they never grew. After that, I gave up.

sumo long cucumber
Suyo Long cucumber

Guess what? I am trying once again to grow cucumbers in my yard. These are not normal cucumbers, but “taste like” cucumbers. They are from Africa. *Ordered: Cody Cove Farm sells a few odd types of cucumber and I decided to order some Zambian cucumber seeds.

Growing Tomatoes Successfully – New ESA Seeds

Is it possible to grow tomatoes successfully for an extended period of time? I had Everglades cherry tomatoes for a while, but then they suddenly died. Fortunately they seem to grow from volunteers easily.

*Ordered: ESA tomato seeds. These are yellow, cherry tomatoes. The “ESA” stands for Early Ssubakus Aliana and originates in China. What I like about Cody Cove Farm is that each selection of seeds contains long paragraphs about how they grew on the farm and what to expect. Since this farm is in Central Florida, just a bit southwest of where I am, I would hope to have a similar outcome.

In general, tomatoes grow best in early spring.

New Peppers to Try

Peppers are the one vegetable I can use for nearly every meal. I love the flavor of peppers, whether hot and spicy, or mild and sweet. I add them to my omelettes, cook them with onions and flavor meat and fish. I like peppers cooked or raw.

Recently all I have for peppers to eat from the yard are Cayenne and a few banana peppers. They are delicious, but I’d love a normal sweet pepper. Unfortunately bell peppers don’t grow well here.

So….

*Ordered: Iquitos Sweet Pepper (Grows through the heat of summer) and Cap 455 Pepper Seeds. (Grow in Spring, into early summer.). Both are sweet and not hot varieties.

I’ve never even heard of these peppers, but I am hopeful that they will grow well for me.

No Guarantees

So many things will affect whether or not crops will grow and do well. My soil may not be as great as what they have on these farms. My rainfall will be different and I have less experience with growing in Florida. It’s all an experiment, but I look forward to it.

My First Moringa Tree Drumstick Bean

Two Moringa trees are growing in my backyard. I’m in Central Florida and the trees grow great all summer, but slow down the remainder of the year. Hurricanes, or strong wind, will knock these trees over. I had to cut mine last year because it fell over the garden. New stalks have grown and I…

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Mid-summer Update on the Vegega Raised Beds

It’s mid-summer and here in my Florida backyard I have mostly flowers growing. I’ve used my three Vegega raised beds to hold some things and some are doing better than others. More amendments for Fall will be needed.

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