Hi everyone,
I just joined and am new to all of this. We're in Colorado, hot, dry, LOTS of sun. I am totally new to both gardening and bees. Thinking about maybe starting a hive, but need to get the garden going first.
Have a south plot 10' x 53' with no shade, sits in sun all day. Lots of clay. Grass fails. We want to xeriscape with perennials, and yes, I will be researching this further. However, would appreciate knowing what kinds of plants and flowers bees and butterflies love. If we can get that going by next spring, maybe a backyard hive will be next. Any suggestions would be very welcome, and if I can shortcut my research time by picking all of your bee-brains maybe I can become a bee-brain too. :)
We want to start an organic vegetable garden in the back yard where there is lots of shade, and some sun-only areas. Thinking about big planter boxes (4' x 6' or thereabouts) so we can use clean, organic soil and know exactly what's in it and bypass all the clay and who knows what else is in the ground. I figure if there are bee-friendly perennials we can put in the soil in the south plot, the bees will find it and so will the butterflies.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.