I pull off the main street in the Dells onto Bowman Rd. to get a supply of local honey. The “honey guy’s” truck is parked next to a farmer selling flower baskets, perfect Mother’s Day gifts. Honeybees and Mother’s Day seem a fitting combination.

I pick up honey, pansies, morning glories, and petunias, which my backyard bees will love. On the drive home, I think of how my own mother was like the queen bee. Being a hive’s queen bee in charge of laying all the eggs is quite a responsibility. There were four of us kids: three girls and one boy. Since my dad worked full time and often got overtime, it was primarily up to my mother to manage the household. She was not only queen but worker bee too, since she (and we kids under her guidance) cleaned, cooked, sewed, and canned our garden produce. For the family’s queen bee, it was a lot to coordinate.

Back home with my honey and flowers, I don my garden gloves and carry the plants to the backyard. I add potting soil to an old pot dating back to my mother-in-law. Ina Laundrie was the epitome of the creative, industrious bee. She was an expert at making meals using leftovers and odd ingredients that needed to be used before they spoiled. Too much Thanksgiving turkey? She’d invent a delicious pot pie recipe that used all ingredients. Worn sheets? She’d make them into handkerchiefs or cleaning rags, some of which my husband and I still use today. Old flower pots? She’d scrape and paint them so they looked like new again.

I fill the pots with soil and arrange the petunias with their trumpet-shaped flowers. Worker bees will soon spot this plant as they forage for nectar and pollen, helping us gardeners (and the entire world) by aiding in pollination.

The petunias are potted, and I set them out on the deck. How long will it take the foraging worker bees to find them? Will the first bee discovering this pot do a waggle or round dance to communicate the location and quality of this pot’s pollen and nectar? I tilt my head and smile, thinking how mothers, including my daughters and daughter-in-law, regularly do the waggle dance, communicating and correcting their children’s behaviors, warning them about life’s dangers, or helping them navigate challenges.

They do this along with transporting kids to their various activities, attending performances or sporting events, and sacrificing so their children get what they need. 

I grab a shovel to plant the morning glories and reflect on another fascinating fact about honeybees. The queen is in charge of keeping everyone in line. She ensures her worker bees' effectiveness by producing pheromones that regulate colony behavior and prevent aggression. Similar to many mothers I know, the queen is a master at warding off conflicts and fights among “the kids.”

Petunias and morning glories planted, I prepare myself a celebratory tea and honey toast snack. I raise my cup to all our community's life-giving queens and industrious worker bees. Happy Mother’s Day.

Thanks to my bee-keeping daughter, Heidi, who inspired this column.