Today, as I was on holiday, my wife and I went for a walk along the canal looking for wild flowers. Apart from the fraught business of having to dodge the cyclists it was lovely. In Edinburgh you're never too far from some country-in-the-city.
There's a good mix of wild flowers along the canal, with a few garden escapees. We were interested in the plants that were attracting bees. For the last couple of years my wife has been a wee bit obsessed about luring bees into our garden. She's doing well so far—the garden is positively hoaching with them.
There were a couple of stand-out plants, bee-wise; a honeysuckle that we tentitively identified as L. Tatarica and the Hawthorn. They were covered in bumblers, there were even some honey bees.
When we got back home we pottered around the garden for a while, watching the bees at work. The phlox and the foxgloves were getting most of the custom, but the kale, that had self-seeded, and the Californian poppies were getting visitors too.
Apparently we have a problem—plants for autumn. So, when we went in, [thanks to Jan] we perused the online version of Howes' flowers for bees book. I thought that we might be all right, we have a lot of Michaelmas Daisies. My wife disagrees and is sorting seed as I type. She'll be right.
From a couple of years of watching bees I see my wife's point: you need to provide variation. Different bees do different things, at different times, and the bee book opened my mind as to the maybe-why.
Today I saw a carder working a lupin, then a hortorum working a foxglove. Different bees, different strokes.
We need more bee flowers. The amount? Many.
Comments
Bees
I come from Penicuik Neil, as you will know about ten miles south of Edinburgh and it is the same you can not through a stone and you are in the country or in the Pentlands. It is truly beautifulNew comment
Well I've visited Balerno a few times & found that the foxgloves were almost the only thing I reckon bees would go for.
Ah well. Hope the garden goes well.
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Here in my garden in Bonnyrigg I've "imported" quite a few bee plants from my mother's garden in the highlands. They seem to do well, but in particular the comfrey is well liked. It spreads like wildfire but that's ok because it makes good compost material for potatoes. However they really go mad for thyme, which turns into a writhing mass of bees when in flower.New comment
Long, long ago, I did my second year dissertation on bumblebee foraging behaviour. It is surprising how different species approach different flower types and formations or indeed how strategy changes with the passing season, weather conditions, day's prior foraging. It always fascinates me how animals, especially insects, are prone to niche specialisation to avoid competition and physiology plays a part.New comment
Lavender, Centaurea and Echinops are very popular in my garden. We have some dwarf yellow foxgloves but I have nippers about and one has to be careful with Digitalis when they are at the let's put anything in the mouth stage.New comment
Thanx all
ASDA was doing some 2 for £1 herb pots, so I bought some thyme. The plant is probably in extremis so now that its been re-potted it'll probably flower like mad.
I'll report back. Bee-wise.
neil