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To Bee Or Not To Bee, Bumblebees in Highlands
Written By: Jeannie Chambers - The Accidental Gardener | Issue: 2018/04 - April
To bee or not to bee.
That’s not even a question when you have Lamium in your landscape. Bumblebees take a “bee dive” to this plant because of the yummy nectar and seem to bury themselves in the flower to retrieve it, and they’re one of the only bees that can partake because bumblebees have extremely long tongues, and the lamium nectar is way down at the bottom of the flower. Lamium is sometimes called Dead Nettle because it resembles the stinging Nettle plant, but the hairs of the Lamium don’t sting. However, since this is a groundcover as well as a bee magnet, you could be in for a different type of sting if you interrupt their mealtime.
Lamium is a wonderful and hearty flowering plant in zones 4–8, and seems to thrive where others don’t fare so well. Although considered a groundcover, these plants can grow upwards to 9 inches. Since they tend to love the shade, they do very well beneath trees, or under the canopies of taller flowering plants. In our mountain area, they can tolerate full sun if the soil stays moist.
The heart shaped, saw-toothed leaves have several color variations. Some appear striped, others almost spotted, while others seem to be almost completely covered with fairy dust except for their green border. Lamium maculatum varies from white-to-pink-to-deep-purple and there’s a bright yellow variety, Lamium galeobdolon, also called Yellow Archangel.
Medicinally, this plant has been used to help lessen bruising and stop bleeding. The leaves have a not so pleasant odor when crushed, another reason to adore from afar.
Lamium is one of the best choices for early color in your landscape. It’s a tough plant, tolerant to rabbits and deer, and starts blooming as early as April. Although considered hearty, Lamium usually plays nice by not taking over where other plants are happily growing. The Mountain Garden Club plant sale usually has a good supply of these bee pollinators in at least two color choices. It’s one of the few plants that may have a bloom for the Memorial Day weekend. Having lamium in your garden is a great way to add a little color and leaf variation while helping our dwindling bee population.
