MrILovetheAnts, red maple flowers aren't ugly at all, and our girls depend on those early blooms on the occasional warm day that comes around in early March. The buds have swollen on ours up here but they haven't opened yet, however, my neighbor's Arnold's Promise witch hazel is in full bloom, and that tree is only about 30' from our hives. Hopefully if the girls venture out they'll find it, for pollen, at least.