The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading GIVEAWAY Posted on 11 Aug 16:43 , 99 comments
I know I say this often but we LOVE Giveaways here at Mary's Heirloom Seeds!
This is an extra special giveaway because we have a new book, The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading, from Lisa at The Self Sufficient Homeacre as well as heirloom seeds.
I have followed Lisa's blog for years and she also shares great information. She even interviewed me once for her website. You can read here at Mary's Heirloom Seeds - An Interview.
This book is PACKED with helpful information about gardening and raising livestock.
"At one time homesteading allowed settlers to move west and claim land by farming it. Today, modern homesteaders choose to raise backyard chickens and tend gardens and orchards to increase sustainability and self-reliance. You, too, can make your backyard a productive oasis in an uncertain world."
I've already started reading my copy and I love it! If you don't want to wait for the giveaway, you can always pre-order your copy HERE
This giveaway is open to all US residents from August 12th through August 22nd at midnight. You must use the rafflecopter app at the bottom of this post to enter. No purchase necessary.
As an added BONUS, we are also going to send Heirloom Seeds from Mary's Heirloom Seeds!

Giveaway opens 8/12/2020 and ends 8/22/2020 at Midnight.
Comments
Virginia Richard on
It’s so awesome that not only are you helping to save heirloom seeds, but also helping others do the same! Thanks for helping biodiversity!
Crystal on
I love to plant marigolds and geraniums for the bees.
wen budro on
My favorite bee friendly plant is the sunflower.
Melissa Storms on
I love planting zinnias for the bees and the butterflies.
Amy on
That looks like a fantastic book — thanks for bringing it to my attention, Mary, and thanks for the giveaway.
re favorite bee-friendly plant — I LOVE all the different seeds you included in your save the bees seed mix. Reminds me I should order more of that!
I really appreciate everything you are doing to make lovely heirloom seeds available.
Unnati Patel on
My favorite bee plant is sunflowers!
donna porter on
We love our sunflowers. This is the flowers we plant all around our veggie garden and the bees come right on in.
Jessica on
The bees really love my sunflowers.
Leanna on
Bees around here seem to like basil, radishes, other herbs with small flowers. I like everything honestly.
Lena on
Lemon balm!
LeAnn Harbert on
The bees like all the daffodils that grow on my farm.
Sandy on
Love my sunflowers 🌻 best bee plants and bee balm and all color zinnias.
Jennifer Hubbard on
I love planting Zinnia’s and Blue mist flowers.Bees and butterflies love them. I’m just now trying sunflowers for the first time. They haven’t bloomed yet, but I am sure I will love.
Lacy Jones on
Lantana, Zinnias, and Marigolds are bringing the striped britches to our veggies.
Brenda Tyson on
I plant many herbs, so far I have only planted nasturtiums, marigolds and salvia in my gardens. I have learned of various flowering plants to plant fi pollinators next year.
Stacie on
Sunflowers or zinnia’s are my favorite flowers to ant for the bees.
Nora Hamlin on
Sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers.
susan chelf on
my pollinators fight over my Mexican tithonia . Butterflies, hummingbirds and bees keep it constantly covered in activity.
April Goethe on
My fav bee friendly plant are sunflowers.
Lori Pucci on
Citrus are my favorites when it comes to bee friendly plants! The scent of the blossoms is intoxicating! I grow many varieties: pineapple + Hamlin orange, Meyer lemon, key lime, loquat, calamondin, loquat, and kumquat!
Pamela Seabolt on
My whole yard hums with the sound of busy bees but they seem to live my rose bushes the best of all!
ae minx on
lavender is my favorite bee friendly flower.. since it grows where I live
Angela Johnson on
I am so happy that I found such a wonderful seed company. I have ordered several times and I get my order very promptly. Ya’ll are awesome!!
Misty on
My bees love African Blue Basil! It blooms most of the year & is SUPER easy to propagate thru cuttings. Just found out you can eat it too!😁
Andrew W on
Bees are crazy about my dragon fruit flowers!
Kesha on
Zinnias is one of my favorite bee loving plants!
Andrew W. on
Bees are crazy about my dragon fruit flowers!
Diane Sikora on
I have so many favorites… Borge is a big bee attractor. My Rose of Sharon bushes attract bees 🐝 like crazy!
Denise Burek on
Love to watch the bees visiting my sunflowers by our front porch. Makes me smile every time.
Julie Bonner on
I have bees, so I love any plant that I can watch them buzz around and collect pollen!
Jamie L Grimes on
The bees have been living my lavender.
Melissa on
My favorite bee friendly plants are sunflowers and yarrow!
Louise Lertora on
The first thing I saw on your page this morning was a picture of the Indian corn my Dad used to plant, he called it blue corn. Little short cobs. Dad would set a pot Of water on the stove to boil. Then he would go out and pick the corn. I’ll never forget the taste. This photo reminded my dad, I miss him so much to this day
Marcelina on
RightNow our cucumber blossoms and teddy bearsunflowers are bringing some bees and bumblebees buzzing!
Renee L Smith on
Beebalm!
Leilani on
I love to take photos of bees visiting my sunflowers!
Laurie Bellino on
The bees where I’m at love my sunflowers and clover.
Melissa D White on
Bees love my Bee Balm.
Katrina Rice on
Echinacea is a good bee friendly plant!
Annette on
Thyme is my favorite bee-friendly plant.
Kim on
My favorite is borage. Mine hasn’t come up in two years so time for fresh seed
Hilary DeWaay on
We have a Rhythm & Blues Salvia plant that bees and hummingbirds seem to love!
Gig. on
Lavender makes me and the bees happy :)
Emily P on
The plant that is the current favorite of my local bees is my Kajari melon vine. :)
Megan on
Sunflowers! Thank you so much for this giveaway!
Sharon A. on
Lavender is my very favorite bee-friendly plant, but I love many others as well and put in my first pollinator garden this year!
One of God's on
I’ve seen sweet clover densely covered with honeybees so I’ll claim that one.
Kim Van Deusen on
My favorite bee plant is bee balm.
Deborah W. on
My favorites are bee balm, lavender and honeysuckle.
Tami Lewis on
Sunflowers are my favorite since my daughter and I do them together.
Jill H on
sunflowers
Daphine on
Nasturtiums are my favorite bee friendly plant
Christy on
My favorite bee friendly plant is lavender – we have them planted in the front yard and they smell wonderful and are always buzzing with busy little bees.
Caroline on
My favorite bee friendly plant is lavender.
ElizabethS on
My favorite bee-friendly plant is Borage. Good for them and for me!
Cathy Melniczenko on
Lemon balm this summer I had never seen so many bees. Honey,wasp,bumble bees.
michaela on
my favorite bee pal is lavender i love its shape and it’s properties although it’s hard to pick just one!!! im sure my answer will change after setting up my own garden
Cynthia on
My favorite bee friendly plant is rosemary. It smells great and is drought resistant.
Sandra Palmer on
I grow butterfly bushes that the bees seem to like.
AnnaLisa on
Sunflowers!
Darlene Owen on
My favorite bee plant is roses.
Ariel on
Borage! It’s so easy to grow and bees LOVE it!
Kristen on
The local bees’ favorite seems to be wisteria.
Sarah Cool on
I love lavender and it attracts a lot of bees
Brian on
This year it seems the bees have loved on our cucumbers the best but my favorite is bee balm.
Katie on
My favorite pollinator is the Florida Snow and goldenrod in my yard because those seem to be their favorites.
Anna on
I plant so many things in hopes of being a little bit self sufficient! Some of them even grow :) My favorite bee-friendly plant is Beebalm, partly because they grow so well and partly because there are so many of them, they bring variety to my garden. And they make nice tea.
Linda Taylor on
My favorite bee attracting plant is bee balm (Monarda)
Greg V on
Milkweed
Jane H on
Bee Balm
Heather on
Sunflowers! Sunflowers are my number one favorite bee friendly plant. I wasn’t sure last time I commented, but my mind has been made up since mine have shown their happy faces.
Sue D on
My favorite bee friendly plant is mint.
Cyndi H on
I love bee balm … so do the bees!
Adrienne Grolbert on
I just placed my first order of your seeds last week! Excited about this giveaway and learning more gardening from you. I love supporting small American businesses. Thank you for all you do!
Amanda Palmer on
Biden alba is my favorite bee plant! I have a bunch growing next to my porch and I love to watch the honeybees
Joanne Keith on
I love all flowers so it’s kind of hard to pick a favorite bee loving plant! Russian sage is pretty awesome!
KT Schubert on
Excited! I just opened my first order. Let the germination begin! 🌱
Christy Sessions on
Bees have been loving my flowering basil! Makes me not want to cut it… ;)
Charlotte McCarter on
The plant in our garden that attracts the most bees are our red raspberries!
Norma Jean Liselli on
Lantanas seems to be the most hardy in my yard at this time. Bees are always visiting the bushes. We also have Spanish needles, which are weeds, but its fun to pick and hold one up to a bee, then bring it up for a closer look. My young nephews like to say hi to them that way.
caitlin peace on
My fave bee plants are bee balm, native salvias, and thyme when flowering
Beth Smith on
my favorite bee plant is a mixture of wildflowers and sun flowers
Rebecca in MD on
My favorite bee friendly plants this year are lamb’s ear and anise hyssop. The bees LOVE them!
Melissa wilson on
Borage is my favorite bee loving plant!
Jennie Brooks on
I read that Alyssum/lobularia is a great host for sweat bees so I planted one this year, and sure enough – sweat bees galore! My other new favorite is a sage someone gave me from their garden and she calls it bog sage. The bigger bees and the hummingbirds love it. The sage also has a very sweet scent. And my go-to pollinator flower is, of course, the sunflower. Thanks for asking. It’s fun reading others’ responses.
Andrea on
Marigold, sunflower, cosmos, borage…
Aaron Roberts on
Zinnias, marigolds, and my own tomatoes are bringing lots of bees, but my absolute favorites have to be russian sage and lavender. So. Many. Bees!
Chava Nesher on
Russian Sage
Paula Ptomey on
I love sunflowers.
Mary Jean on
Anxiously awaiting fall/winter so that I can begin ordering seeds for my next summer garden.
So many new to try.
Donna Lynady on
My favorite safe bee balm,and sunflowers
tiffany hart on
Borage and zinnias!
Vickie on
Wild Queen Anne’s lace and Lantana
Janet on
Love your detailed instructions and videos! What a great year to get into pollinators and veggies. Thank you!
Keli on
I love bee balm and tick weed
Brenda Balch on
My favorite bee friendly plant is sunflower.
David Latino on
my favorite bee plant is sun flowers or bee balm
Keith Robbins on
Thank You For Making my thumb a darker green than it was already. ((( HUGS )))
Suzy Herron on
my favorite bee plant is Borage and bee balm