Spending 15 minutes in your garden counting bees is a pleasant way to pass the time while helping with bee conservation efforts.

I’ve been counting the bees that land on the ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflowers in my garden and I’m delighted at the results.

During my latest 15-minute observation, I counted 12 honeybees landing on one large flower–almost one bee every minute.  Many others buzzed around me as I sat quietly counting.

If you haven’t counted your bees yet, there’s still time this summer. Just set aside a little time during the day when the bees are active and pull up a tree stump.

All you need is a watch, paper and pencil. Once you’re done counting, be sure to report your results on www.GreatSunflower.org.

While you’re counting, think about the thousands of other gardeners across the country who are involved in this citizen science project to help bees.

The data that’s gathered every year helps researchers with their bee conservation efforts.

The other evening I caught a glimpse of a sphinx moth darting from petunia to petunia in the patio garden.

John grabbed his camera and captured this wonderful shot of a white-lined sphinx moth enjoying some of the Wave petunias Ball Horticultural Company sent me earlier this season to trial in my garden.

I like the Wave Purple  Improved Spreading petunia and Petunia Shock Wave Coral Crush in a hanging basket as much as this sphinx moth does.

The white-lined sphinx moth is common to the Western part of the US. It’s a large moth that resembles a hummingbird during flight or while hovering above flowers in the garden. The moth’s wings beat so quickly it’s hard to tell what they really look like while they’re moving.

But this image shows the colorful pink, brown, and white patterns on its wings as it enjoys a midnight snack.

Bee part of the first-ever online town hall event dedicated to celebrating the  most underappreciated helpers in our gardens: bees.

The 2011 Bee-a-thon, hosted by Your Garden Show, is the kick-off to today’s Great Bee Count.

Stop by the Bee-a-thon between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Pacific time for the first-ever online webcast discussing how to protect our most valuable pollinators.

Throughout the day experts will discuss bee biology, changes in global bee populations, and what you can do to help. You can listen in throughout the day and ask questions in real time.

All of this buzz is in support of The Great Sunflower Project, a citizen science campaign that encourages gardeners to plant sunflowers, count the number of bees visiting them, and report the data online.

I’ve written about The Great Sunflower  Project many times over the last several years and was one of about 50,000 gardeners actively participating last year. My sunflowers are slow to bloom this year, but as soon as they do I’ll bee starting my observations.

The Silver Fountain Butterfly Bush is now loaded with purple blooms and I’m not the only one to notice.

It’s time to plant your sunflower seeds and join the Great Sunflower Project for 2011.

The Great Sunflower Project is underway! Plant Lemon Queen Sunflowers this weekend and then mark your calendar for July 16. That’s the day of the Great Bee Count of 2011.

The Great Sunflower Project is my favorite citizen science effort. Every summer gardeners across the country plant sunflowers in their gardens, count the bees that land on them, and report the results.

Even though it’s best to observe and report weekly, the Great Bee Count is the day set aside for a nation-wide count.

Bees are in trouble and they need our help. By growing sunflowers and counting bees, we can learn more about our important pollinators. More information leads to more action to help preserve and enhance pollinator habitat.

Amy Stewart’s talk at the Denver Botanic Gardens tomorrow night promises to be wicked good fun.

I’m looking forward to seeing Amy again tomorrow night at the DBG when she gives her talk called “Wicked Plants: The Deliciously Dark Side of the Plant World.”

I met Amy at a Garden Writers Association Symposium a couple of years ago right after her book called “Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities” hit the bestseller list.

This year, Amy has followed up her “Wicked Plants” book with a sequel called “Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army and Other Diabolical Insects.”

Amy’s been on the road promoting her new book and I can’t wait to hear what she has to say. She’s got some interesting perspectives on the world of horticulture that she also shares with other gardening types on the entertaining GardenRant blog.

The bald-faced hornet (D. maculata) belongs to the wasp family and is known for its elaborate hanging paper nests.

We noticed the beginnings of a bald-faced hornet’s nest on the ceiling of the front porch in mid-June.

I wasn’t sure what it was when I first saw it, but then I noticed the insect activity.

John grabbed his camera, stepped outside and took this photo that shows the inside of the nest, complete with several hornets and the first batch of eggs.

These wasps are common in the Rocky Mountain region, but this is the first time I’d spotted one of their nests so close to mine.

I’m more familiar with the nests of western paper wasps because I often find them hanging inside the eves of the playhouse I have in my garden.

There are about 250 species of butterflies in Colorado, but I see more Two-Tailed Swallowtails than any other kind.

As part of National Pollinator Week, I’d like to take time today to salute butterflies.

This has been a good year for spotting butterflies in my yard, especially the beautiful Two-Tailed Swallowtails.

The ones that I’ve seen sailing through my backyard are particularly fond of landing on the roses and gathering pollen as they carefully tiptoe around each flower on their long, thin legs.

I’m not sure most people realize that butterflies aren’t only lovely to watch as they glide through the air, but they’re pollinators, too. They’re an important part of the ecosystem and when we don’t see many in the landscape it’s a signal that something may be wrong in the environment.

To make your yard more attractive to butterflies, create a landscape with food plants for both caterpillars and adult butterflies. Provide shelter from wind, like trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses and even fences.

It’s time to celebrate National Pollinator Week, June 21-27, with a WesternGardeners.com salute to pollinators. Today we proudly salute bees!

Thanks to the efforts of the Pollinator Partnership, pollinators are being celebrated across the country this week. As part of its mission, the Pollinator Partnership works to protect pollinators–like bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles–through conservation, education and research.

Today we salute the little workhorses of the garden, bees. Gardeners already know that to have a beautiful, productive garden, bees have to like to hang out in it. Especially honey bees.

Honey bees are the best of the insect pollinators and hundreds of fruits and vegetables would disappear if we lost all of our honey bees. But, as many of you already know, our bee populations are in serious trouble. Loss of habitat and use of pesticides are two key reasons why bees are being threatened. Honey bees are also suffering from a mysterious disease called Colony Collapse Disorder. Just this week, researchers identified imported, disease-carrying honeybees as a possible cause of colony collapse.

The Great Sunflower Project needs gardeners to plant sunflower seeds and to spend a few minutes of time observing bee activity in their gardens.

It’s time to join hands with other gardeners involved in The Great Sunflower Project and plant Lemon Queen sunflower seeds in your garden.

This simple act will help honeybees in two ways: it will provide an important food source and it will help collect information about bee populations across the country.

I wrote about The Great Sunflower Project last year after reading about it in Sunset Magazine. Gretchen LeBuhn, AKA The Queen Bee,  is an associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University and the founder of this national effort to get home gardeners to help track bee activity in their backyards.