One part of my bee garden project at Petersen Farm.
I seeded two flowering meadow 'strips' that can be replicated on awkward/unusable pieces of farmland. Below is one of the strips, seeded in November 2017 with a combination of cheap seed mixes from High Country Gardens (CO) and Pineview Horticultural (ID), both sold as "shade-tolerant" for this spot in between two greenhouses.
Every farm has a few shady spots that are unsuitable for crops. And a surprising number of flowers will grow and bloom in the shade.
The downside of these pre-fab mixes is that most species are non-native. However, they still provide food for bees, plus plenty of beauty and interest. A sampling of what has emerged so far:
