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Honey Bee Haven could use a hand

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 8, 2019

A bee is at home in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.
Photos: Courtesy of Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven

GoFundMe page raises money for unique habitat on UC Davis campus

With its original sponsorship funds long gone, the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven needs a new sugar daddy.

In the meantime, bee lovers throughout the Sacramento area have chipped in to help save, not only bees, but this special habitat.

Known on campus as The Haven, this unique garden is facing a funding crunch. It needs about $15,000 by Oct. 1 to keep offering its full fall schedule of educational activities.

“It’s an ongoing concern,” said Christine Casey, who manages The Haven. “We have no dedicated source of funding. It’s a little puzzling. At this point, over $1 million has been invested in this garden.”

Ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs, which still has its name on the sign, donated the initial $125,000 to start the garden in 2009, plus some later contributions.

“It’s been more than five years since we’ve had any contact with them,” Casey said. “We’re still calling it ‘Haagen-Dazs’ in absence of anything else. But it leads a lot of people to assume we’re supported by them.”

With the looming shortfall, Casey and other bee lovers have launched several fund-raising efforts. The Sacramento Area Beekeepers Association started a GoFundMe page; so far, it’s reached almost half of its $3,500 goal. Find it here: https://www.gofundme.com/save-the-haven-to-save-the-bees

Besides its regular classes and tours, the Haven will host a series of special events. Among them is a “Pollinator to Plate” open house, set for 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 17, and a fall open house and plant sale Sept. 28. The half-acre garden features more than 250 species of pollinator-pleasing plants. Admission and parking are free, but donations will be very welcome.

At both events, The Haven will sell handmade bee houses, which help raise awareness about non-honey bees.

“This year, we’ve recorded 80 different species of bees in the garden,” Casey said. “We continue to see new species in the garden. It’s way more than just honey bees.”

For more on The Haven’s fight for more funding: https://sacblog.newsreview.com/2019/08/07/a-haven-no-more/

Located on west campus near the UC Davis airport, The Haven is open free during daylight hours year round. It’s next door to the Laidlaw Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road.

For directions and more information: https://beegarden.ucdavis.edu/

The Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven shows how water-wise perennials and shrubs
can help many species of bees.

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An article about gardening.

Keywords:

christine casey native plants bees Honey Bee Haven UC Davis

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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