On a sunny afternoon in late October, I headed to our backyard garden to collect seeds and seed heads from some of the annuals: nasturtiums, Echinacea and cosmos. With a killing frost forecast for that night, I figured the remaining blossoms would be ruined the next morning, so I stopped to fix the image of pink petals in my mind, to remember in the depths of winter.

When I spotted two honey bees hard at work, I hustled back inside to grab my camera with the aim of reinforcing my mental picture with a digital one…or two…or more…

Eventually I remembered my original purpose for being outside, set down my camera and picked up my wicker basket and scissors. Flower heads and seed pods are now drying in the garage. We’ll plant the seeds next spring and grow another pollinator-friendly garden to attract more such visitors to our next crop of Cosmos.

Interested in pollinator-friendly gardening? My favourite resources are Canadian Gardening magazine (including this article) and Pollination Canada. For those in the United States, the Pollinator Partnership looks like a good starting point. If you already practice pollinator-friendly gardening, feel free to leave a comment sharing you successes / concerns.