Free eBook Download – Bee Friendly: A planting guide for European honeybees and Australian native pollinators

Here’s a great free e-book produced by the Australian Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation – “Bee Friendly: A planting guide for European Honey Bees and Australian native pollinators” by Mark Leech.

This comprehensive planting guide lists both Australian native plants and exotic plants which can be used as bee forage for European honeybees and Australian native pollinators in both urban and rural environments, and for various climates.

This book includes the times of year when the recommended plants flower, so with the right plant selections, you can have bee forage plants in flower all year round.

It’s a very comprehensive 320 page book with colour pictures, here’s the list of contents:

Contents
Foreword iii
Acknowledgments iv
Contents v
About this book 1
Urban sites: general 9
Cities as apiary sites 9
Available land 14
Design principles 16
The value of trees and urban vegetation 16
Where to now? 17
Domestic gardens 19
Bee garden design criteria 20
Garden preparation 22
Plant selection 23
Floral calendar 23
Garden species selection 25
Cool climate garden species 25
Temperate climate garden species 39
Warm/humid climate garden species 53
Hot/arid climate garden species 67
Streetscapes 81
The value of street trees and other plants 81
Street tree selection 82
Native, exotic or both? 84
Bees in the Streetscape 84
Streetscape species 87
Cool climate streetscape species 87
Temperate climate streetscape species 101
Warm/humid climate streetscape species 117
Hot/arid climate streetscape species 131
Urban open spaces 145
Urban open spaces species 149
Cool climate urban open spaces species 149
Temperate climate urban open spaces species 163
Warm/humid climate urban open spaces species 179
Hot/arid climate urban open spaces species 193
Rural areas 209
Planting design 211
Native forests 211
Shelter 212
Traditional plantations 213
Grazing systems 215
Rural species 221
Cool climate rural species 221
Temperate climate rural species 237
Warm/humid climate rural species 253
Hot/arid climate rural species 269
The bee farm 285
Non-migratory beekeeping 285
A changing resource 288
Ownership and funding: new partnerships 296
Bibliography 297
Websites 308
Glossary 309
Abbreviations 311
Species lists 313
By common name 313
By botanical name 316

This book is useful for all locations right around Australia and should be adaptable to other countries as Australia has a climate range from cold to tropical, and many non-Australian plants are included.

The website description is as follows:

“The Australian honeybee industry provides essential benefits to agricultural, horticultural and urban environments through managed and incidental pollination services.

Planting bee forage for honeybee nutrition offers major benefits to the industry and society. This planting guide for bee forage describes planting choices from the backyard to the bush, right across the nation, and will assist with increasing available bee food. Individuals, gardeners, municipalities, government land management authorities and farmers can make a difference.

Partnerships and innovation in urban environments and broad-scale vegetation management will effect a positive difference. Perennial pastures for semi-arid lands, biofuel plantations, carbon farming, biodiverse planting and revisiting existing plantation development can all deliver significant regional benefits.

This guide gives ideas and choices of species to bring about improved outcomes for honeybees and the Australian pollen- and nectar- using fauna, including mammals, insects and birds.”

Book Details

“Bee Friendly: A planting guide for European Honey Bees and Australian native pollinators”

• 320 pages
• Published: 15 Jan 2013
• Author(s): Mark Leech
• ISBN: 978-1-74254-369-7

You can download the free PDF eBook or purchase the hard copy here – “Bee Friendly: A planting guide for European Honey Bees and Australian native pollinators”.