Zinnias! Zinnias! Zinnias!

Honey bees foraging on zinnias?

Yes. It's not considered a "bee plant" like the salvias, lavenders and mints, but bees do forage on it occasionally.

The genus, from the aster family (Asteraceae), derives its name from the German botanist, Johann Gottfried Zinn.

At the Hoes Down Harvest Festival last weekend at the Fully Belly Farm, an organic farm in Guinda, deep in the heart of Capay Valley, life took a celebratory twist. The annual festival, so named because folks put down their hoes to celebrate the harvest, includes educational farm tours, a children’s area, hands-on workshops, live music, and the sale of organic produce (fruits, vegetables, olive oil and honey).

This year, the 23rd annual event, weavers wove, spinners spun and a blacksmith blacksmithed just as our great-grandparents did.

And those little honey bees that make it all possible, buzzed amid the basil, mints, salvias--and yes, zinnias.