Herb Gardens for Bees: Avena Botanicals
(Page 3 of 4)
June/July 2009
By Jean English
How the Pollinators’ Paradise Was Made
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Deb Soule founded Avena Botanicals in 1985 in a small room in her West Rockport, Maine, home, where she prepared remedies from her garden herbs. In 1995, Avena moved down the street to its current 32-acre farm, where Deb designed and planted her large, organic and biodynamic herb gardens. The plants in the herb gardens supply nearly 70 percent of the herbs that Avena uses in its products, and they also support hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other visitors—including humans. The artfully designed gardens—some in full sun, others wooded—include stone paths, meditation benches, statuary, and handcrafted arbors, bridges and gates. The gardens are open to the public year-round, free, Monday through Friday. Avena’s herbal products are sold at the apothecary adjacent to the gardens, through the Avena catalog and online. Deb will lead free Summer Herb Walks through the gardens on select Wednesdays throughout the summer. Many classes also are offered for a fee during the growing season. For more information, contact Avena Botanicals, (207) 594-0694; avena@avenabotanicals.com; www.avenabotanicals.com.
Hedge Your Hummingbird Bets
Not all pollinators are bees. Avena Botanicals owner Deb Soule’s favorite pollinator is the ruby-throated hummingbird, and the key to attracting these beautiful migrating birds is to have a mix of their favorite plants in bloom all season, she says. (Although all of these plants are beautiful and beneficial to the hummingbirds, not all of them are used to make medicinal preparations.)
Hummingbirds usually arrive at Avena May 1 to 15, when they feed on apple blossoms and true Solomon’s seal, which grows in a bed in part shade. Another early-season hummingbird favorite is lungwort, which is “a great groundcover below shrubs or trees,” Deb says. “The hummingbirds love that little bit of shade.” Hummingbirds also frequent dandelions and coral bells in spring.
In summer, scarlet runner beans provide four to five weeks of blooms that attract hummingbirds, and a hedge of jasmine-scented nicotiana “is fragrant in the evening and morning, and they love that,” she says. Hummingbirds visit magenta liatris in August, and in mid- to late summer, bright red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Other late-season attractions include fall phlox, asters, Mexican sunflowers and hummingbird sage (Salvia coccinea).
“For those with small decks or gardens, potted nasturtiums, hanging pots of fuchsia and vining honeysuckle are fantastic choices for hummingbirds and people,” Deb says.