Pollinator Week - Page 2

GrowingCoastal · June 28, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I LOVE toadflax. It's SO sweet and pretty. I must et some of that going here in a wild area. There is also a blue/mauve one that looks gorgeous grown en masse. We live near a defunct golf course, and the first year it was covered in it. Interestingly, a very small percentage of it came up white...…

Linda

Mine keep cycling from purple to pink. both are loved by bees. The campanula does the same, changing its shades of blue from one generation to the next.

Labradors2 · June 28, 2019

That's interesting that they change colour! Have you seen the yellow one? Either it's shorter, or it usually grows amongst the weeds that keep it in check.

Linda

GrowingCoastal · June 28, 2019

Yellow? Nope. Many (?) flowers do the purple > pink> white> blue again cycle. Larkspur is another one.

Labradors2 · June 28, 2019

Interesting, I didn't know that. The only plant I know of that changes colour is the hydrangea that can be pink or blue. (I've heard that people pee on them to turn them blue

).

Linda

bower · June 28, 2019

Yellow toadflax is the one we call "Butter and Eggs". I've seen the blue but not as commonly - they are different species/ not as closely related as the name would suggest.
Very pretty! But the yellow is not something you want in the garden bed. They spread by roots which are like a thin elastic - very hard to weed without snapping em, and they come back from a wee bit of root and choke their companions.

Labradors2 · June 28, 2019

That's the one Bower, Butter and Eggs. I didn't know that they were so difficult to pull! Guess I didn't really mind that they came back as they were so pretty.

The purple one is like a mini Snapdragon.

L.

bower · June 28, 2019

There's some kind of pretty flower in the ditch which I keep seeing on the drive between my place and Mom's. Almost tempted to stop and take a handful of roots, but then I saw bamboo in the ditch as well.

I'm about done with admiring the weeds as a few things are bolting early - red clover for one which bee will be very happy about. I've been sneaking around stealing the dandelion clocks and have put about 2 5 gallon buckets of them in the compost.

There will be no shortage next year nonetheless.
The shallot flowers are starting to open - what a patch of em I've got. I'm hoping for an apology from Mrs. Bee for the scolding she gave me. "You make me nervous" indeed!

GrowingCoastal · June 28, 2019

A lot like chives before they open.

Labradors2 · June 29, 2019

They do look like chives. Gorgeous!

Linda

Labradors2 · June 29, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjamesNorway

I have a bee hotel ready to hang up. All you need is a block of wood. Drill 4-7 millimeter holes 8-10 centimeters deep. Hang it in a sunny spot. I stopped using pesticides on our raspberry bushes a couple of years ago, and I leave more flowering weeds around the house than before. They're very fond of foxgloves, especially bumblebees. We have lots of perennial flowers around the house, and a bush (don't know what it is) that sounds like a high tension wires when it's flowering. We should all be doing our bit.

Steve

Steve, I just read your post and want to make a bee house too. Apparently, it's really important to clean them out every year so that they don't harbor insects/disease, but I'm sure you know about that. I saw one recently, where the lady had collected Daylily stems and placed them inside a tub which lay on it's side. Easy enough to do and renew every year

.

I'd love to hear more about that flowering shrub with the high tension wire noise when it flowers, although I probably wouldn't be able to hear it as my hearing is going

.

Linda

Nan_PA_6b · July 4, 2019

I can't say enough good things about hellebores. First to bloom, a little before daffs and forsythia. They can grow in pure deep shade or sun, mine spread slowly, and the blooms last for months. Mine start in March and are still going. Probably almost over with by now.) They're evergreen, too. They drop leaves in March and the flowers pop up and the leaves grow right back.

sjamesNorway · July 5, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Steve, I just read your post and want to make a bee house too. Apparently, it's really important to clean them out every year so that they don't harbor insects/disease, but I'm sure you know about that. I saw one recently, where the lady had collected Daylily stems and placed them inside a tub which lay on it's side. Easy enough to do and renew every year

.

I'd love to hear more about that flowering shrub with the high tension wire noise when it flowers, although I probably wouldn't be able to hear it as my hearing is going

.

Linda

I'll get back to you with photos of the bush, which I haven't been able to find. It's 3+ meters tall, and similar to privet, but the mature leaves are broader than any photo I've found. The flowers are white and tiny, and are mostly hidden by the leaves.

Steve

Tracydr · July 5, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I forgot about Columbines! Can save some seeds, as well as Forget-me-not seeds, and put them in the Cdn Seed Swap with your name on if you like

.

Linda

What’s the best way to start Columbine seeds and what time of year? How about lupine and augastache,anise hyssop?
I’m always nervous about starting perennials because I don’t know how,so then I end up letting the seed just sit in my seed collections.
I’ve found elephant garlic is great for an early pollinator attractor and very pretty. Here in the south our camellias of different varieties bloom all winter long.
Artichokes and basil are also great,along with lilac. I assume cardoon would be too so will be trying some this year just for the flowers.
I’d really like to start building a thick border of flowering herbs,annuals and perennials in my new fruit garden. (Fruit trees,berries and melons will be planted)

PhilaGardener · July 5, 2019

Unless they are annuals, start them sooner than later - biennials get established in year 1 and then start to bloom in year 2. If you are concerned about doing the wrong thing, just plant some, but not all, of your seed, (or try different approaches) but if you aren't storing them in a freezer they are just losing viability in storage. Google each species to see if it requires cold (vernalization), abrasion (scarification) or other special treatments, but I recommend looking into winter sowing as a way to wake these up and get them going!

https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2019/0...flower-garden/

bower · July 8, 2019

Mission accomplished with the shallot patch! Fully blooming in the warm sunshine today (and smelling faintly of curry!

) I counted eight bumblebee queens on them at once this afternoon!

There's a big patch of red clover on the other side of the garden which is being worked hard as well in the recent days. I don't often see that many queens here (and no wonder since there's little to sustain them in their spring hustle)... So I'm expecting once the worker broods are out (and the bulk of the flowers as well) that the garden will be seriously carpeted with bumbles.

June 28, 2019	#17
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,887	That's interesting that they change colour! Have you seen the yellow one? Either it's shorter, or it usually grows amongst the weeds that keep it in check. Linda

June 28, 2019	#18
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	Yellow? Nope. Many (?) flowers do the purple > pink> white> blue again cycle. Larkspur is another one.

June 28, 2019	#20
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	Yellow toadflax is the one we call "Butter and Eggs". I've seen the blue but not as commonly - they are different species/ not as closely related as the name would suggest. Very pretty! But the yellow is not something you want in the garden bed. They spread by roots which are like a thin elastic - very hard to weed without snapping em, and they come back from a wee bit of root and choke their companions.

June 29, 2019	#24
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,887	They do look like chives. Gorgeous! Linda

July 4, 2019	#26
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	I can't say enough good things about hellebores. First to bloom, a little before daffs and forsythia. They can grow in pure deep shade or sun, mine spread slowly, and the blooms last for months. Mine start in March and are still going. Probably almost over with by now.) They're evergreen, too. They drop leaves in March and the flowers pop up and the leaves grow right back.

July 5, 2019	#29
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	Unless they are annuals, start them sooner than later - biennials get established in year 1 and then start to bloom in year 2. If you are concerned about doing the wrong thing, just plant some, but not all, of your seed, (or try different approaches) but if you aren't storing them in a freezer they are just losing viability in storage. Google each species to see if it requires cold (vernalization), abrasion (scarification) or other special treatments, but I recommend looking into winter sowing as a way to wake these up and get them going! https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2019/0...flower-garden/

July 8, 2019	#30
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	Mission accomplished with the shallot patch! Fully blooming in the warm sunshine today (and smelling faintly of curry! ) I counted eight bumblebee queens on them at once this afternoon! There's a big patch of red clover on the other side of the garden which is being worked hard as well in the recent days. I don't often see that many queens here (and no wonder since there's little to sustain them in their spring hustle)... So I'm expecting once the worker broods are out (and the bulk of the flowers as well) that the garden will be seriously carpeted with bumbles.