Our bees are late. They were supposed to arrive last Saturday, but at the last minute we got a call saying they wouldn’t be available until this Saturday… something about the weather still being a touch too cold for them. We used our extra weekend to get our garden ready for our a buzzing friends. When we bought the place, the front garden was a bit of an overgrown mess. A wild vine was consuming the fireplace, and the little patch of dirt was an uneven cluster of flowers and weeds. Chad’s been clearing out the clutter, and this Saturday it was finally ready for some planting. We heard that bees really respond to purple flowers, so we put in some May Night Salvia, Emerald Blue Moss Phlox and my favorite, Provence Lavender. This will keep things pretty and tasty for a month or so. But what we need to do next is plant some autumn blooming flowers, so the bees will be kept busy for months and months. Something yellow, perhaps. Any suggestions? — Angela M.

You know that I’ve been a little quiet on the blog recently because I’ve been falling madly love with our daughter, a little ten-pound three-month-old named Isadora. But what you don’t know is that Chad and I are about to start a new adventure at our Catskill cottage — beekeeping! Well, it’s really more Chad’s thing than mine, but I fully support this new hobby of his. For the past few months, he’s been reading up on beekeeping, learning most of what he needs through a company called Betterbee. The other day, he assembled the hive with the help of a brad gun (many, many nails were required). The bees arrive this Saturday. Chad has been trying to talk me into going with him to pick them at the farm, but my better judgement tells me NOT to be in a tiny Honda Fit with 5,000 bees. I don’t care how they’re crated: Isadora and I will hang at home, thank you very much. It’s exciting, though. I’m sure you’re aware of the serious perils currently facing honeybees. If our little efforts can help — not to mention produce some delicious honey — it will be well worth a few stings. — Angela M.