Late Summer Gold

As I drive through western Vermont, my eyes feast on the goldenrod that is blooming wherever there is an unmowed piece of meadow or lawn.

This beautiful flower is the last major nectar and pollen source for Vermont's honey bees until next spring (save the purple asters that will bloom in early fall). As I walked through a neighboring farm field I saw the golden flowers covered with bees....You can smell the honey Thistle Hill's colonies are making from 3o feet away, it has been so strong the last few days.

Despite the persistence of the myth, goldenrod pollen doesn't cause hay fever. It's the concurrently-blooming ragweed that triggers allergic reactions. Goldenrod pollen is sticky and heavy; it falls to the ground. Ragweed pollen is lightweight and carried on the wind.

So, you can allow your goldenrod to bloom. If you leave your field and roadsides unmowed, then area bees can find food for their young in the form of pollen, and food for the approaching cold weather in the form of nectar that they will make into honey. If you don't have any goldenrod in your yard, you can plant some there or in your garden, for some wonderful fall color. For more about cultivars, see the Brooklyn Botanic Garden web site.