# Guerilla bee gardening



## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

A few years ago I planted some borage in my garden. The bees loved it. I also noticed that in my area, borage will readily self-seed and spread like a weed. I had borage plants popping up all over my property, neighbors' property, etc.

Now I'm walking to the grocery store and looking around at every plant I see, evaluating its usefulness to bees, and I'm noticing countless little niches and pathways and public spaces where weeds grow anyway, that I could toss some borage seeds down on my walk, and they'd sprout, grow, feed the bees, reseed, spread and feed the bees again - all on their own. No one will probably even notice as these areas are barely tended/not tended anyway.

So I ordered a 1/4lb. bag of borage seed that I intend to spread around my surrounding blocks this year, and in a couple years, the neighborhood should have a feral, self-sustaining population of wild borage feeding the local bee population.:thumbsup:


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

Please don't go spreading invasive noxious weeds around on the property of others


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

msl said:


> Please don't go spreading invasive noxious weeds around on the property of others
> https://www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/Documents/Publications/Weeds/CommonbuglossProfile.pdf


Not the plant I'm talking about. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage

I live in an urban environment. This plant is not invading anyone's alfalfa fields, trust me.

Honey bees are not native to the US. Nor are many of the plants they like. Nor are most of the plants grown in urban gardens/yards in my neighborhood. We're talking about overgrown weedy areas, which will only be improved by planting some useful flowers. If all of Portland removed the invasive, non-native weed blackberries, the local bee population might die entirely. Blackberries are a huge part of the local nectar flow.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

whoop, thats why i gave the link, just in case, too many plants called the same common name ie they are both know as borage and star flower...
and lets be real, your description and intended out come would lead one to beleave its invasive...


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

It does not matter what it is weather it is invasive or not. It does not matter weather it is a noxious weed or not. It is Wrong to do anything at all to, on or in the property of another without permission to do so. It is presumptuous, and self serving to take such liberties! Just plant them on every inch of your property if you want them planted!


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

Tenbears said:


> It does not matter what it is weather it is invasive or not. It does not matter weather it is a noxious weed or not. It is Wrong to do anything at all to, on or in the property of another without permission to do so. It is presumptuous, and self serving to take such liberties! Just plant them on every inch of your property if you want them planted!


What part of overgrown, weedy *public spaces* makes you think I'm suggesting going around planting things on other people's property?


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## sarahsbees (Apr 20, 2016)

I dunno, you might not like your neighbors! Might nefariously be throwing seeds over their fence in the middle of the night. 

In all seriousness, I've heard of companies selling "seed bombs" and encouraging the same practice so I think you're in the clear.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

someone spread Canadian thistle seeds in between the guard rails on a secondary roadway here, just leading up to a bridge so the the rails formed a triangle on both sides of the bridge. the thistle took off and both triangle areas looked terrific covered with thistle and blooms. the road crews couldn't cut between the guard rails with their equipment so the stand got dense and healthy. by early fall they must of come back because the next time I passed by it looked like roundup was applied and the whole thing was a ugly brown mess.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

damdaman said:


> What part of overgrown, weedy *public spaces* makes you think I'm suggesting going around planting things on other people's property?


 What part of YOU DO NOT OWN IT do you not understand! Your indiscriminate spreading of seeds will eventually lead to contamination of other private property.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Note that Portland Oregon has regulations that REQUIRE property owners to remove invasive plants on their property, even though those property owners may never have planted tose species. 
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/55084

Borage doesn't seem to be on the Portland prohibited list, but it is at least mentioned on the State of Oregon invasive plants listing for _Paterson's Curse_ ...


> Paterson’s curse is an erect annual (less often biennial)[HIGHLIGHT]in the Borage plant family.[/HIGHLIGHT] Plants can be single-stemmed or multi-branched with an abundance of stout hairs on stems and leaves. Flowers are most often blue-purple in color, but may be pink or white. Flowers are borne on fiddleneck or scorpioid-like inflorescences. Two of the five stamens in the flower are longer and project significantly from the joined corolla. In Oregon, blooming starts as early as March and continues through June. Reproduction and spread is by seed. Each flower produces four brown or gray nutlet seeds surrounded by a husk covered in bristles giving them a fuzzy appearance. Seeds are spread by vehicles, farm implements, humans, animal, water, wind, hay, and as a contaminant of commercial seed. [HIGHLIGHT]Paterson’s curse seed has been found in wildflower mixes in Oregon.[/HIGHLIGHT]
> 
> http://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/weeds/oregonnoxiousweeds/pages/aboutoregonweeds.aspx#_


Given that seed cleaning is not 100% effective, unintended hitchhikers could easily be spread by surreptitious seed distribution. This project seems to be similar to another problem urban areas often have - "_art_" foisted on unwilling property owners.


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

Tenbears said:


> What part of YOU DO NOT OWN IT do you not understand! Your indiscriminate spreading of seeds will eventually lead to contamination of other private property.


As a tax payer I actually own it just as much as everyone else. Seeing these hysterical replies to what boils down to a neighborhood improvement idea makes me glad I live in a city where most people aren't so reactionary. Most of my neighbors adopt sections of these neglected areas, planting all sorts of things that improve the neighborhood, including FLOWERS FOR BEES.

But hey, why do that when we could just let weeds grow? Because surely WEEDS will never "lead to contamination of other private property." Seriously, get a grip.


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Note that Portland Oregon has regulations that REQUIRE property owners to remove invasive plants on their property, even though those property owners may never have planted tose species.
> https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/55084
> 
> Borage doesn't seem to be on the Portland prohibited list, but it is at least mentioned on the State of Oregon invasive plants listing for _Paterson's Curse_ ...
> ...


Given that urban environments are DENSE, everything planted anywhere can spread. It's the nature of cities. The ugly, useless, invasive weeds currently overgrowing said areas certainly can.

Man I never expected such negativity from the idea of replacing eyesores with flowers. Luckily most people in my neighborhood already do this, even in the PUBLIC SPACES that they DON'T OWN. It makes the neighborhood better. As does art. Here's to Portland, OR!


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

sarahsbees said:


> I dunno, you might not like your neighbors! Might nefariously be throwing seeds over their fence in the middle of the night.
> 
> In all seriousness, I've heard of companies selling "seed bombs" and encouraging the same practice so I think you're in the clear.


Thanks Sarah, for a reasonable reply to my thread.  I'll look into these seed bombs!


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

clyderoad said:


> someone spread Canadian thistle seeds in between the guard rails on a secondary roadway here, just leading up to a bridge so the the rails formed a triangle on both sides of the bridge. the thistle took off and both triangle areas looked terrific covered with thistle and blooms. the road crews couldn't cut between the guard rails with their equipment so the stand got dense and healthy. by early fall they must of come back because the next time I passed by it looked like roundup was applied and the whole thing was a ugly brown mess.


I've always thought that along roadsides/highways were a great place for communities to start reclaiming large swaths of land for a public good. I wonder if we could convince whoever's in charge of such things to mass plant pollinator plants alongside them as an experiment?


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

damdaman said:


> As a tax payer I actually own it just as much as everyone else. Seeing these hysterical replies to what boils down to a neighborhood improvement idea makes me glad I live in a city where most people aren't so reactionary. Most of my neighbors adopt sections of these neglected areas, planting all sorts of things that improve the neighborhood, including FLOWERS FOR BEES.
> 
> But hey, why do that when we could just let weeds grow? Because surely WEEDS will never "lead to contamination of other private property." Seriously, get a grip.


Why don't you go in front of your neighborhood/community/city council and present your beautification idea to them to seek approval?
Other taxpayers have a stake in public land too, they own it with you and some may have other plans for those waste spaces.
The city council may go all in for it and supply the seeds, the community may help you, it'll make the neighborhood(s) better, it is Portland after all.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

damdaman said:


> I've always thought that along roadsides/highways were a great place for communities to start reclaiming large swaths of land for a public good. I wonder if we could convince whoever's in charge of such things to mass plant pollinator plants alongside them as an experiment?


Some state pollinator protection plans have included methods to increase the number of bee friendly plants on public roadways. Check with your state it may be happening already.


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## damdaman (Jun 7, 2013)

clyderoad said:


> Why don't you go in front of your neighborhood/community/city council and present your beautification idea to them to seek approval?
> Other taxpayers have a stake in public land too, they own it with you and some may have other plans for those waste spaces.
> The city council may go all in for it and supply the seeds, the community may help you, it'll make the neighborhood(s) better, it is Portland after all.


In an ideal world, sure. But in reality neighborhood pathways overgrown with weeds will have to be addressed by the city government sometime after the housing crisis/homelessness crisis, the meth/heroine epidemic, the increased gang activity, and even fixing the ubiquitous potholes that have scarred all the roads after an unusually cold winter.

Or after fixing that other problem someone seems to think we have... too much art!


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

damdaman said:


> Man I never expected such negativity from the idea of replacing eyesores with flowers. Luckily most people in my neighborhood already do this, even in the PUBLIC SPACES that they DON'T OWN.


Individual citizens do not "own" public lands in any normal meaning of the word. Just imagine what would happen if you decided to _harvest a tree_ from the public lands that you seem to think you own at say Portland's ... Washington Park


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## MonkeyMcBean (Mar 1, 2017)

Tenbears said:


> What part of YOU DO NOT OWN IT do you not understand! Your indiscriminate spreading of seeds will eventually lead to contamination of other private property.


Next time I'm in Pennsylvania I'll be sure to bring seeds just to rile tenbears.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

MonkeyMcBean said:


> Next time I'm in Pennsylvania I'll be sure to bring seeds just to rile tenbears.


 Go right ahead plant whatever you like. It is not a case of riling Tenbears, But rather a case of common courtesy.
But remember when you plant these things to be sure you do so at night in locations where there is no chance of anyone, I mean anyone at all seeing you because if you plant them in a location where you can or should have foreseen that the spread of these plants will invade my farm land. In which case I certainly will file suit in court to recover damages. Just ask the township what happened when they decided to plant Crown vetch along the road bordering my alfalfa fields and the stuff ended up out competing my cash crop! 

I plant 60 acres of purple tansy for the bees, My bees, wild bees, the neighbors bees! Great flowers for bees they bloom at a time when little else is blooming in my area. The difference being I plant it on My own land. Land I have a deed to. I do not go out and plant it in the median of I80. Simply because I want to, And certainly not because I can see a possible benefit to me. People need to realize that they are not the only ones in this world, and the right of scrooges not to look at flowers is equally important as ones right to do so. By the same token when one's efforts result in another having to labor of pay to have labor done to remove the results from others actions, the individual causing such action is responsible and they know it. That is why they would rather do such things on the sly than ask permission. When the seed caster's neighbors start griping that the city planted these flowers in the weedy public spaces and now they have these things growing all over their lovely lawn, and they are crowding out their begonias Is Mr. Seed caster going to tell tem he planted the stuff and therefor will pay to have chemlawn come in and get their lawn straight, Or a landscaper to help their begonias? I doubt it!


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## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

I'm with TenBears. If you and i were neighbors and you thought it great to spread flower seed, and i thought it great to spread tumbleweeds, and someone else thought it great to spread fire ants, then by your logic, all of us are ok in doing so because we are all equal owners of that public land. 

Do what you are gonna do, just know there could be consequences.


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## Diamond Hunter (Jan 17, 2016)

Hey Tenbears,how in the world do you plant 10 acres of purple Tansey?How many pounds that take?


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

Your idea of planting borage "for the public good" is a nice idea. However, what make you the person who decides what the public good is? I might believe that marijuana is a great medicinal plant. Should I be out there planting it all over town for the public good? It is legal here so why not? Unfortunately, I don't get to make these choices. Public lands belongs to everyone. Since we don't all agree what is best for our public lands, we let the government decide and we elect them to make the choices for us. Clyderoad has the right idea. Bring the idea to your city or county officials. They might like it so much, they will pay for the seed!


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Diamond Hunter said:


> Hey Tenbears,how in the world do you plant 10 acres of purple Tansey?How many pounds that take?


 I plant 60 acres not 10. Each pound of seed contains over 1/4 million seeds. I use 50 pounds for the 60 acre tract. Believe me it is not cheep seed. Because of the cost of the seed I drill it in rather than broadcast to minimize the bird damage. I also bush hog after it goes to seed. I get 4 years out of it that way. making the planting cost below $1000.00 a year.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Both the blue and white flower type Borage are invasive. I've been trying to get rid of them for almost
4 years now. Every early Spring time they would bloom and can be overwintered quite easily here. Frost cannot
kill the young seedlings. Our environment is perfect for them invading every corner of the backyard if you let them.
The worst part are the tiny transparent skin poking needle like fine hairs. You would be asking for hours of itchiness if 
you don't have a pairs of thick gloves to remove the dead plants. Imagine when a little dog or innocent kid playing at the
public land to be in contact with those innocent looking beautiful blooming plants. The seeds not in contact with sunlight will
stay dormant for years under the ground. Now I don't till the soil anymore instead to cover them with more compost making a raised bed. They are blooming nicely now and the bees are all over them. And so are the tiny 4 little seeds that come with every seed pods attached. I too like you have consider spreading them to the local creek and open fields. But after thinking about it further it is too invasive because of the many seeds one plant can produce in a season's growth. No other animals or insects will eat the plants either. They are drought resistant to an extent too. One month without any water they're still blooming and going strong. Just too many qualification to be on the invasive species list if it so qualify. Will be getting rid of them for good after the purple tansy and clovers got established this year.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Tenbears said:


> I plant 60 acres not 10. Each pound of seed contains over 1/4 million seeds. I use 50 pounds for the 60 acre tract. Believe me it is not cheep seed. Because of the cost of the seed I drill it in rather than broadcast to minimize the bird damage. I also bush hog after it goes to seed. I get 4 years out of it that way. making the planting cost below $1000.00 a year.


Where do you get your seed?


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## roberto487 (Sep 22, 2012)

beepro said:


> Both the blue and white flower type Borage are invasive. I've been trying to get rid of them for almost
> 4 years now. Every early Spring time they would bloom and can be overwintered quite easily here. Frost cannot
> kill the young seedlings. Our environment is perfect for them invading every corner of the backyard if you let them.
> The worst part are the tiny transparent skin poking needle like fine hairs. You would be asking for hours of itchiness if
> ...


I live in planting zone 6A and borage comes year after year. I want to destroy them, but when I see the flower buds, I change my mind. Then the hot summer days of July and August dry them out. In fall, a few rush to grow and flower drop their seeds and start the process over.


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## mischief (Jan 21, 2017)

I concentrate on my own property, although I did throw out some evening primrose seed along the highway wile driving along it simply cos it was a high pollen plant and I had heaps of seed leftover.

There is nothing at all wrong with weeds naturally growing in 'wasted spaces'. These have a place and also have insects including bees that make use of them. 
You dont have to guerilla bomb the neighbourhood to help our little friends.

The other thing to remember is that while Borage may be an excellent bee forage plant, its not the only one and like us, they need diversity of forage/food in order to have a healthy diet.

So once again, concentrate on your own backyard and maybe talk to others to try to get them to think of what they can do to help in theirs.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

This "Guerilla bee gardening" just needs to be adjusted and become a land restoration project.
All it is to it. 
Remove few misguided ideas; instead do the well defined and much needed land restoration (or prairie restoration, if prefer this term).
I am doing it; few people around me doing it just as we speak.

Here are few ideas that are doable, beneficial, and plenty ethical and legal...

1)prepare seed balls with seeds of bee-friendly plants in them - goldenrods, asters, sweet clovers, any number of other native plants (google the "seed balls" if don't know already)
2)identify public spaces where plant diversity is lacking and, worse, places are taken over by aggressive invasive plants - canary grass is one example (in my area much public lands have been taken over sea of canary grass and are total disaster for everyone, people and insects alike)
3)toss the seed balls into those areas (again, the goldenrods/asters/sweet clovers will make it there on their own anyway but much more slower - so you simply speeding up the eventual and natural process)

PS: to be sure, sweet clovers are non-native, but essentially are a common place plant now and have high value in many regards (excellent for soil restoration and insect forage; Feds and some states use sweet clovers exactly this way as we speek - see North Dakota prairie soil restoration/preservation, just for one example)


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

damdaman said:


> I've always thought that along roadsides/highways were a great place for communities to start reclaiming large swaths of land for a public good. I wonder if we could convince whoever's in charge of such things to mass plant pollinator plants alongside them as an experiment?


There are organizations and individuals that do that in my area, but they work with the county and let everyone know what is planned.

damdaman, I think part of the discussion issue is a misunderstanding of what an invasive species is. Many non-native species grow well and take their place in the ecosystem. They are not invasive. Invasive species are non-native species that grow well, spread fast, and cause damage to the ecosystem that causes native species problems. In Florida, we deal with a lot of problems related to invasive species, but we also have a lot of non-native species that are fine.


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