"Phacelia is full of bees here too, although the flowers have been in
full bloom for a few weeks now. A bee keeper told us it was one of the
top plants for bees and I can honestly say I agree with him"
It's so easy to grow @Fire and spreads by reseeding year on year without any effort on my part. I wouldn't be without it for bee the activity the flower generates!
@Guernsey Donkey2. When you see more leaves than flowers, cut them back to the ground, water well if dry, they grow again in no time, some flower again, some don’t.
@jan.lawson. Mine weren’t as tall as the Russell’s, but could be next year, you have to watch for slugs though, they love the fresh new growth. I always sow a few Lupins seeds every year in case I lose one, I’ve heard tell that they are a short lived perennial, my original ones were planted out in 2013 and still blooming well.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Have noticed numerous honeybees (Apis mellifera) making a beeline for the sprays of creamy white flowers on this privet (Ligustrum) hedge.
Notice how much golden pollen has fallen onto the surface of the leaves below the flowers? I think it is all the pollen in the flowers that the honeybees are after!
I'm still surprised by the popularity of my Mesa Yellow Gaillardia × grandiflora. I had it last year and only remember is as being of occasional interest to the bees, but this year it's been one of the best performers. At one point this morning it had a bumble bee, three solitaries bees and a Small Tortoiseshell on it as the same time.
My three lesser calamints are just starting to come in to flower; I await to see if they reclaim their place at the top of the bee popularity.
Does your Gallardia look anything like this @ForTheBees? They are lovely plants, easy to divide or sew seed and can be fairly hardy too. The bees love their bright colours as much as I do.
Most of my flowers are bee loving, this particular corner is buzzing. veronica pink, and blue, Daisies, geranium, penstemons , Salvias, White Agastache and a remaining foxglove. Rosa Rugosa at the back. I’ve just cut the Heuchera flowers off. The only plant I bought is the pink Veronica. The rest is seeds and cuttings.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
@jan.lawson. Mine weren’t as tall as the Russell’s, but could be next year, you have to watch for slugs though, they love the fresh new growth. I always sow a few Lupins seeds every year in case I lose one, I’ve heard tell that they are a short lived perennial, my original ones were planted out in 2013 and still blooming well.
Notice how much golden pollen has fallen onto the surface of the leaves below the flowers?
I think it is all the pollen in the flowers that the honeybees are after!
My three lesser calamints are just starting to come in to flower; I await to see if they reclaim their place at the top of the bee popularity.
veronica pink, and blue, Daisies, geranium, penstemons , Salvias, White Agastache and a remaining foxglove. Rosa Rugosa at the back. I’ve just cut the Heuchera flowers off.
The only plant I bought is the pink Veronica. The rest is seeds and cuttings.