An Unlikely Hero

Welcome back everyone,

  I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful August weather here in Southern Ontario. July was a rainy, unpredictable affair. August seems to be bringing us a classic Canadian summer: hot and humid. And short. In a few weeks this wonderful weather will make way to cooler temperatures and changing colours on the trees. In fact, my neighbour’s gigantic tree is already starting to show a colour change. Autumn is beautiful but the departure of summer is always a sad time for me. Let's enjoy it while we have it. 

  Previously, I’ve mentioned on the Legit Raw blog that we are very much learning as we go. When we know better, we do better. This is an important idea for us at Legit Raw. We really do change our formulations and our practices based upon what we learn. The Legit Raw team has these types of conversations on a regular basis. Sharing information and becoming better educated are very much part of what we do. I’d like to share with you something I learned yesterday. 

  We have a crabapple tree in our backyard. We’ve been in our current home for thirteen years now and it has grown quite a bit. It is planted in a bit of an unfortunate spot right up against the side of our house. I wonder if the previous owners realized just how big the tree would get when they planted it? We bought our home from the original owners, who purchased it new in 1983. The crabapple tree now reaches the top of our house and scrapes against the aluminum siding in windy weather and storms. So my wife and I have talked about removing it. I was sold on the idea and put it on the never-ending to do list for projects around the house. Then I learned something this morning as I was doing some research for another blog post I’m thinking about. Here is what I learned: Crabapple trees are very important for pollinators like bees and butterflies. In early spring our tree produces beautiful pink flowers. They really are beautiful and my wife and I always wish the flowers would stay longer. It is this flower that is so important to bees and butterflies. It turns out that bees love crabapple trees. The crabapples turn out to be an important food source for birds, bees, butterflies and other critters. We also have a pretty great family of squirrels in our backyard and I know they eat and stash the crabapples in the fall. I’ve seen them do it and it’s really awesome. One of the little guys will stash a few of the crabapples in his cheeks and run off to store them and come back for more. This spring we had a bird’s nest in there and three new baby Grackles flew the coop to go and live their lives. It was fun seeing the parents leave the nest and return with food for their hungry babies. Babies are always welcome in the Legit Raw home. 

This is a Grackle. Very common in Southern Ontario. We had 3 born in our crabapple tree this spring. All 3 babies survived and flew the coop when they were ready. May they lead great, wonderful Grackle lives.   

So the crabapple tree will be staying. I haven’t told my wife yet. I think a reasonable compromise would be to trim up some of the stray branches and take better care of the tree. I didn’t realize that bees love crabapple trees. In fact, apple farmers will plant crabapple trees on their farm just to support their local pollinators. 

This is the flower of the crabapple tree that bees love so much

Legit Raw supports Friends of the Earth Canada. One of the reasons we do is their efforts to support bee health and wellness. You can visit Friends of the Earth Canada here https://foecanada.org/the-bee-cause/ and learn about their commitment to bees. 

Keep the trees

Let's review what we have learned about establishing a bee friendly environment in our yards, however large or small they may be. It doesn't take much to create a pollinator friendly space. 

1. A constant water source. Ideally something like a bird bath so the local birds also have a space to keep clean and cool. Bees, butterflies and insects will also use the bath as a source of water on their travels. 

 This is our bird bath. I place 3 stones in the middle as a perch for bees, butterflies and other insects. I have seen bees and butterflies using it. Bees travel quite far on a daily basis and need a clean water supply as they journey in search of pollen. Birds need a bath to keep their feathers clean. I put fresh water in the basin every other day. 

2. Lavender, planted in bunches. It doesn't take much to attract pollinators to your garden. It smells wonderful and looks beautiful. There really are no down sides to planting lavender. 

3. Keep the trees! Research the trees on your property and in your area. I didn't know that crabapple trees are so important to pollinators. Keep the crabapple trees. Try not to cut down any trees on your property unless absolutely necessary. Incorporate any trees into your landscape design if you are doing a back yard space. 

 This is our crabapple tree. As you can see in the first photo, it has grown up against the side of our house. It could use a proper trim. In the second photo you can see the crabapples growing in nicely. They will ripen fully in September. Squirrels are already feasting on them. Bees love the crabapple flowers in the spring. 

  We will add to our list as we learn. These three simple steps are a great beginning to creating a bee friendly environment. 

  Hopefully you learned a few things this week that will help you in your own garden. I'm not a gardening expert at all. I'd love to hear from some of the gardening aficionados out there. I'm always ready to learn. 

  See you next week. 

I'm Carlo Santin, co-founder of Legit Raw. I'm also an educator by day, a husband and a father of two sons and now a daughter-in-law. Welcome.