Tag Archives: Wildlife

Unknown's avatar

In a Vase on Monday: It’s All About The Bees!

by

It has been a good year for the bees…. very sunny all spring and summer, with little rain and hardly any storms. There are a couple of plants that are smothered in bees and other pollinators at the moment, and I decided to dedicate a vase to them as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme. Follow the link to see other Monday vases from around the world.

So, first of all the Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) has recently begun to open and it is already very popular with busy insects. I love seeing this splash of yellow in the countryside as it signals late summer and the onset of my favourite time of year. 😁

And in the Words and Herbs Bed the Agastache is one of the bee magnets. This one is A. ‘Blue Fortune’.

These were the starting point for my vase – two tall plants!

Another bee favourite (butterflies too) is Verbena bonariensis, also tall, so I added some of that, along with some Winter Savory from the Herb Bed and one sprig of the very tall Veronicastrum ‘Diana’ from the Moon Bed.

The Veronicastrum is only just about in flower, but already smothered in insects. I like to pick some before the sun spoils the flowers.

The Agastache goes on flowering for weeks but did take a while to get going this year after our cool nights all spring.

I realized that all of these flowers have something in common. Firstly they are all tall (well the savory not quite so tall), like beacons waving to the bees in the breeze – ‘Come and get it!’ And secondly, they all have dozens if not hundreds of tiny flowers on each inflorescence, providing pollen galore!

More new tiny flowers open on each cluster daily, which means the supply can last several weeks.

Other favourites here are currently the Borage and Hyssop. I wonder which plants in your garden the bees like best?

Have a good week, and Happy Gardening!

🐝🐝🐝

 

Unknown's avatar

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Lychnis (Silene) flos-cuculi

by

We have been hearing cuckoos for a few weeks now. I find it a lovely gentle sound and always hope to catch a glimpse of one, which I have only managed to do once. They are rather unassuming and blend into the background well, and yet their call draws attention to them. Around the same time as the cuckoos can be heard we often find the so-called ‘cuckoo campion’ (Kuckuckslichtnelke in German) known as Ragged Robin in the UK.

Lychnis (Silene) flos-cuculi is a pretty pink wild flower that blooms in our meadow in May or June.

In shadier or damper spots it may continue to flower all through the summer, but it hasn’t been so profuse here this year due to the lack of rain.

Another reason Ragged Robin has its German name ‘Cuckoo campion’ is the fact that you may see cuckoo spit on it (the frothy protection for the larvae of spittlebugs or froghoppers). I am not sure where the English name ‘Ragged Robin’ originated.

Do you ever see this pretty wild flower growing near you? And do you hear cuckoos? (Have you ever seen one?!)

Have a good week, and Happy Gardening!

 

 

 

Unknown's avatar

In a Vase on Monday: Winter Rescues

by

Every Monday I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her lovely meme, where she invites us to share materials from our gardens in a vase. This becomes tricky in winter as – here in Bavaria – daytime temperatures have mostly been remaining below or around freezing point.

So the lovely Hellebore I bought last autumn and planted in a large pot was looking extremely thirsty – the soil was frozen solid. I brought it into the cellar to thaw out a couple of weeks ago, cut off a few dead bits and it has now rewarded me with lots more lovely flowers! Rescue accomplished! Here are three of the flowers in a small vase with some Narcissi I had growing on the windowsill.

The vase matches perfectly!

But I also had to rescue something else this week. While doing a bit of reorganizing, vacuuming and dusting in my room, I disturbed a Hummingbird Hawk Moth – maybe it was behind a shelf or sideboard? I have no idea why it chose such a warm room to overwinter. It immediately flew to the Hyacinths I had on the windowsill!

I made a little video of it too.

I decided it was far too cold to release it outside, although it was flying against the window constantly. So what to do? I caught it in a glass, took it up to our attic and placed the pot of Hyacinths next to it. Another rescue accomplished! It is cold and dark up there, but with plenty of nooks and crannies for creatures to snuggle up, and spaces showing daylight too. The Hyacinth was going over. I wonder if the moth will survive. I read that cold garages, frost-free sheds etc are ideal places for them to overwinter, so I think the attic was the best option.

Anyway, many thanks to Cathy – do go and visit her to see her vase today, as well as many other vases linked in from around the world. 😃

 

Happy February!