First an organic garden, now BEE HIVES at the White House!  (see  gmgaston's post about the garden today).   A White House employee, a carpenter, keeps bee hives at his house and suggested it.   So, he will be placing two hives next to the organic garden this week.     They will help to pollinate the vegetable garden (along with wild bees) but also will probably be seen pollinating withing a 1-3 mile radius of the White House.  Those cherry trees in April will be a real treat for them!

While the vegetable garden is the first one since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during World War II, the bee hives will the first  at the White House (this according to Bee Culture).   I did read that George Washington kept bee hives at Mt. Vernon.  

So far, I have been so impressed with Michelle Obama as a role model--helping out at the soup kitchen, promoting healthy eating, visiting government workers, etc.    But, when I heard about the bee hives, I was quite excited because on April 3, I will be installing a package of bees in my very own bee hive.  So, I figure we'll be starting out on this journey together.

Is this cool or what? 

 Note on photograph:   This honey bee was collecting pollen (stored in yellow sac on its leg) and sucking the nectar from my glory-of-the-snow flowers today.    The bee came a long way since the closest beekeeper is at least 4 miles away from us as far as I know.   I wondered how she could fly that far with all that pollen and nectar.