The Plants Bees Love
In this day and time, I would hope gardeners understand the importance of bees and other insects in the garden. However, from time to time, a person comes into the nursery and asks for plants that will NOT attract bees (sigh). They are not really gardeners though, they are just looking for a plant to fill a space. I find myself more and more intrigued by bees although I don't know that much about the different types. I do make note of plants that they like and try to add as many as I can to the garden. Over the past weeks, with watering a daily activity amidst a lingering heat-wave, I've conducted an informal survey and noted the plants that they seem to like the most. Butterfly Weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) Butterfly Weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) is one of my favorite perennials and the bees love it too. I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly on it but we don't seem to have many of those. Everybody wants the "Showy Milkweed" (Asclepias speciosa) but I knew
You've got all the bases covered for you avian visitors, Phillip. I loved the photo of all those bushtits clustered together.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos of your birds, Phillip! The bushtits are little balls of feathers...
ReplyDeleteGood photos! Nice to see what your feeders do for them in the tough winter months. We have the same birds here. A west coast thing? No nuthatches, though. Oak Woodpecker for Woodpeckers. The Bushtits travel in a group and visit each shrub looking for---whatever they look for. Then they move on, just as you say, swiftly. I like the Scrub Jays too. Their scratchy call. They "plant" acorns in all my pots.
ReplyDeleteI too find it frustrating when good quality, cleverly designed items disappear from the market place (a watering can, in my case).
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures of all your feathered visitors! The Bushtit photo is hillarious! There is safety in numbers, I know, but this is too funny.
Chavli
So great to have all that wildlife, I'm jealous. *I don't feed the birds anymore, I was attracting rodents. I really miss it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite morning activities is to have a cup of tea and enjoy watching the birds cluster around the feeder in the back garden. They wait in the trees for me to replenish the supply, then bombard it the moment I walk away. Thank you for sharing these great captures and I do love the one of the Bushtits all congregated together!
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