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Green Acres hosts virtual pollinator party

Recipe for Honey Bee cocktail that's part of the fun

Cocktail glass with lavender
The signature cocktail for this event is the Honey Bee.
(Photo courtesy Green Acres)

Happy National Pollinators Week! Time to show bees and butterflies some love.

Planting nectar- and pollen-filled flowers is a wonderful way to celebrate. Beneficial insects love a blooming buffet.

To get us gardeners in the mood, Green Acres Nursery & Supply is hosting a virtual garden party. At 4 p.m. Friday, June 26, take a trip to “Playful Pollinator Paradise” on Instagram Live.

According to Green Acres, the free event will feature “our hands-on pollinator container garden, a lavender-honey cocktail, and special music provided by our guest DJ to get you in the mood and keep things moving.”

When it’s time for the party, just go to
www.instagram.com/idiggreenacres/ and click to join.

Guest DJ will be Tessa Young, founder of Prism Djs. Supplies and plant suggestions are available online at www.idiggreenacres.com under “Events.” (Here’s the direct link: https://bit.ly/3evNjYT )

For the container garden, Green Acres experts suggest agastache, coneflower, petunias and sweet potato vine. Since this is for Instagram, the project is billed as “Picture Perfect Pollinator Pot-Up.”

As for the party’s signature Honey Bee cocktail, it’s also post-worthy and guaranteed to get you buzzed. Here’s the recipe (adapted from Green Acres):

Bee on lavender flower
Bees and lavender are a perfect pairing. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Honey Bee
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1-1/2 ounces lavender-honey syrup
3/4 ounces lemon juice
5 to 6 ounces champagne or sparkling wine
Ice
Lavender flower for garnish

Instructions:


In a cocktail shaker, add lavender-honey syrup, lemon juice and ice, and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a champagne coupe (a shallow, saucer-shaped, stemmed glass). Top with champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with a fresh lavender flower. Serve immediately.

Lavender-Honey Syrup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon zest
5 to 6 fresh lavender flowers

Instructions:
Add all ingredients into a small saucepan and heat to a low simmer. Maintain at a low simmer for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let cool. Strain the mixture into a storage container. Will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of June 4:

Because of the comfortable weather, it’s not too late to set out tomato and pepper seedlings as well as squash and melon plants. They’ll appreciate this not-too-hot weather. Just remember to water.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, melons, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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