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For the last month I've been at Milkwood Farm, about a four hour drive from Sydney, Australia. I'm here until December as part of their spring internship program.
Today three of my fellow interns (Ashley, Juergen, and Olive) quickly cranked out a bee forage calendar that it cried out for a digital version. Species have been selected for cold temperate Australia (this is definitely not the subtropics!). We're all beginners when it comes to bees, and damn close toe beginners when it comes to botany so please forgive any mistakes.
We'll improve it as time permits, in the mean time I hope it provides a useful starting point for others. If you have any corrections or additions I'd love to hear them!
Please note that the months indicate when the plant will be flowering in the southern hemisphere, where summer is December to February!
| Name | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees | |||||||||||||
| Golden Rain | X | X | X | X | X | D,F | |||||||
| Elder | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Rosecea Fruit | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Persimmon | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Chestnuts | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Almonds | X | E | |||||||||||
| Willow | X | X | X | C,M | |||||||||
| Maple | X | X | X | B | |||||||||
| Fig | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Shrubs | |||||||||||||
| Grevillia | ? | H | |||||||||||
| Rosemary | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Giant Lavender | X | X | X | S | |||||||||
| Hazelnut | X | E | |||||||||||
| Blackberry | X | X | E,P | ||||||||||
| Bottle Brush | X | X | |||||||||||
| Winter Honeysuckle | X | X | X | A | |||||||||
| Echium Wildpreti | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Foam Flower | X | X | |||||||||||
| Tree Lupin | X | X | X | X | N | ||||||||
| Hairpin Banksia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| Herbs | |||||||||||||
| Queen Ann Lace | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Thyme | X | X | E | ||||||||||
| Dandelion | X | X | E,M | ||||||||||
| Horehound | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Lucerne | X | X | X | A | |||||||||
| Borrage | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | A | |||||
| Echinacia | X | X | X | X | M | ||||||||
| Yarrow | X | X | Dy | ||||||||||
| Golden Rod | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Poppy | X | X | R | ||||||||||
| Globe Thistle | X | X | X | P | |||||||||
| Bee Balm | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Tansy | X | X | X | Dy | |||||||||
| Cat Mint | X | X | |||||||||||
| Milkweed | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Coltsfoot | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Anise Hysop | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Ground Covers | |||||||||||||
| White Clover | X | X | N | ||||||||||
| Penny Royal | X | X | X | M | |||||||||
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| A | Animal Food / Fodder |
| B | Biomass |
| C | Coppice |
| D | Drought Tolerant |
| Dy | Dynamic Accumulator |
| E | Edible |
| F | Frost Tolerant |
| H | Animal Habitat |
| M | Medicinal |
| N | Nitrogen Fixing |
| P | Pioneer Species |
| R | Recreational (loljk) |
| S | Aromatic (smelly) |