All very interesting about the bees. I thought it was the varoa mites that were wiping them out- I guess that is old news now. I never heard of drone flies before- pretty strange, a fly that looks exactly like a bee. In a field of clover not a single bee! I would get excited last summer whenever I saw a honey bee- there were lots of bumble bees but few honey bees. Then the cold snap here got the crape myrtles and my hollies- so much less food for them to eat early in the season. We had a hive when I was a kid and we used to harvest it I think once a yr. It was an exciting experience! And I love the taste of honey- I expect the prices of honey will shoot through the roof now. the mason bees pollinate but they don't make honey. I hope they find the answer soon and it is fixable. I notice at the end of that article, it cited other past die offs, so the scientists are not sure if this is another one or if it is worse or something different. (So like the media to put the dire speculation up front and a more measured analysis of the situation at the end of the article!) thanks for bringing up the topic. Brandy

Hello, All. I have just moved to St. Paul for a new job, and had to leave my beautiful butterfly/pollinator garden behind. I will be living in a downtown apartment for the foreseeable future, so I'm looking for ways to stay active in pollinator gardening. As I searched for local groups, I came across one that holds regular conferences. Doug Tallamy is speaking next month!!! I can't wait to meet/hear him. Iris, re seed sources, I have had great luck with seed trading with folks here on GardenWeb/Houzz. Go to the exchange forums and check them out. Also, once my husband follows me here, he will bring my box of native seeds. I have far more than I need, and would be happy to share. It might be up to a month before I have my seeds, though. Martha

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@sandy (z5b nys) ha! I first planted nepeta for my own housecats (with some nagging guilt about being a parent encouraging drug use, lol). My cats have passed on but the catmint stays and has done better than possibly anything else in my garden (with the exception of madonna canadian anemones, which are crazy invasive, and the native columbines and lupins that volunteer up here in ME like weeds). The white version of nepeta is hard to find in my area but I snagged some a few years back and it’s just wonderful, smaller, more compact and tidy — actually, possibly a perfect plant for anita the OP? blooms a bit later than the blue and lasts a long time, looks a bit like baby’s breath. @anita55 – in terms of old-fashioned flowering perennials, some other straight ones that do well for me without floppage are maltese cross (3-4 ft when established — they take a few years — red-orange, about four weeks from june into early july and sporadic thereafter). Also giant hyssop is very tall and straight, to 5-6 feet, with lovely purple wands from july-august, and it always brings the monarchs. Have you tried bee balm?