Vegetable Garden

Sunday Snap: The Pollinators Are Finally Returning

June 16, 2013

hoverfly on chive

As with many aspects of nature this year, the pollinators have been late arriving. I’m deliberately choosing to decorate our garden with flowers that will attract bees, butterflies and hoverflies and have included a Bees Banquet range of seeds in the Greenside Up Gift Cards.

If you love bees and would like to find out more about them, take a look at Bridget Strawbridge’s blog where she’s writing about the importance of biodiversity and especially bees (@BeeStrawbridge on twitter). Bridget is a passionate and knowledgeable advocate for our little friends and you’ll learn heaps from her.

It’s a joy to see our little friends back and buzzing around the garden again.

15 Comments

  • Reply Colette June 16, 2013 at 9:10 am

    I was thrilled to see the honey bees on our raspberry canes during the hot weather last week. Very late to arrive, but at least they are finally here.

    • Reply greensideupveg June 16, 2013 at 9:16 am

      I know exactly how you feel Colette! Makes me smile every time I walk outside and hear them. Isn’t it interesting how we used to take the bees for granted and now celebrate and are thankful for their very existence. There must be a message in there…

  • Reply cathsveggies1 June 16, 2013 at 10:43 am

    Yeaaaaa, saw loads busily buzzing in my comfrey patch the last few days. Great to have them back 🙂

    • Reply greensideupveg June 16, 2013 at 10:57 am

      Isn’t it fab! (And another reason why we should have comfrey patches if we have the space)

  • Reply David @ ForkingMad June 16, 2013 at 10:49 am

    Excellent. I haven’t had any honey bees yet, but plenty of bumble bees. I’ve been trying to plant some bee friendly flowers for them this year.

    • Reply greensideupveg June 16, 2013 at 10:57 am

      I’m not sure there’s anything else we can do David, other than to educate people to ditch the chemicals. Our gardens will be beautiful 🙂

  • Reply Ena Ronayne June 16, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    Lots of bumble bees for quite some weeks now especially in my front garden. At mo it’s the foxgloves they’re drawn to I think. Secret for sure is to change our planting practices and as you so rightly suggest Dee to ‘ditch the chemicals’

    Delighted to see that you’ve given Brigit a plug She’s AMAZINGLY knowledgeable and I’m constantly learning from her fab blog posts 🙂

    • Reply greensideupveg June 16, 2013 at 2:35 pm

      Thanks for the comment Ena. The bumblebees are loving my bell shaped aquilegia too. I’ve been following Bridget for several years on social media, she’s so knowledgable on bees and Her passion for them is infectious 🙂

    • Reply David @ ForkingMad June 16, 2013 at 8:48 pm

      I’m finding the BB’s are tiny this year so far. Definite increase in numbers in the last few days though. I’ve been compiling some pics and managed to grab a lovely close up of their wings. So delicate.

      http://forkingmad.com/bumblebee-photos

      • Reply greensideupveg June 16, 2013 at 9:03 pm

        David they’re lovely photos! I find it so difficult to capture insects and although I try to photograph bees on my digital camera, I usually give up and resort to the phone camera (which this one was taken on) so I don’t get the macro shots. Fingers crossed we see lots more pollinators with all the blossom that’s on offer this year 🙂

        • Reply David @ ForkingMad June 16, 2013 at 10:09 pm

          Thanks. I do find that I need to take lots of photos as the BBs don’t stay still very long.

  • Reply Dr Hows Science Wows (@sciencewows) June 17, 2013 at 11:10 am

    Have seen some bumble bees alright and a few butterflies but worryingly still no honey bees. My lavender garden is late this year, only emerging now and that is always a big draw for the honeybees so I am hoping to see our little friends very soon!

    • Reply greensideupveg June 17, 2013 at 1:55 pm

      And won’t we be welcoming them! Hopefully we’ll have some sunshine soon that will bring them all out again 🙂

  • Reply Jane Barry June 19, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    I’ve never been so happy to see bees as this year and a lot of people seem to be the same – awareness really seems to have taken hold which is great my only problem is butterflies. I can’t handle them at all. I’ve already had to move a few plants away from the house because of them. Right now I’m enjoying the buzzing of bees when I sit in the garden but in another while I won’t be able! I’m happy to suffer for the sake of the bees however : )

    • Reply greensideupveg June 19, 2013 at 9:43 pm

      I’m the same with daddylonglegs (crane fly) Jane. Kind of nervous about the autumn already as have seen so many leatherjackets in the soil this spring!! I was watching the bees in the garden earlier, they’re so busy and enjoyable to watch 🙂

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