Filed under: flowers, Garden Courses, Gardening, nature | Tags: bumble bees, Garden Open Days, Garden Visits, gardening classes, nectar rich flowers, planning your garden, Sensory Garden
There has been a lot on the news this year about the hard times ahead for bumble bees. We can all do our bit to help, they need flowers throughout the Spring and Summer (March-Sept), and these need to be the right kinds of flowers. Instead of planting bedding plants and all the hard work that goes along with them, why not try growing traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers. Many of these thrive and look superb in the garden. They are also easy to grow, generally being hardy and much more resistant to slugs and disease. Bumble bee species differ in the length of their tongues, and as a result prefer different flowers, so it’s important to grow a range of different things.
There are lots of plants to choose from, so why not start to plan your garden so that you encourage the humble bumble bee.
March – April
Apple, Bluebell, Broom, Bugle, Cherry, Erica carnea (heather), Flowering Currant, Lungwort (Pulmonaria), Pear, Plum
May – June
Alliums, Aquilegia, Birds-foot trefoil, Bugle, Bush vetch, Campanula,Ceanothus, Chives, Comfrey, Cotoneaster, Escallonia,
Everlasting Pea, Everlasting wallflower, Foxglove, Geranium, Honeysuckle, Kidney Vetch, Laburnum, Lupin, Monkshood, Poppies, Raspberries
July – September
Black horehound, Borage, Bramble, Buddleia, Cardoon, Catmint, Cornflower, Delphinium, Heathers, Hollyhock, Hyssop, Knapweed, Lavender, Lesser burdock, Marjoram,
Mint, Penstemon, Polemonium, Purple loosestrife, Red bartsia
Filed under: Garden Visits, Gardening, Lifelong Learning, nature, Oatridge College, Suntrap Garden Open Day, Things to do in Scotland, Visit Scotland gardens, walks | Tags: bird, Garden Open Days, Garden Visits, Italian Garden, Oatridge College, Suntrap, Suntrap Open Day Sunday 24 May
What a perfect Summer’s day we had. The weather was beautiful, the garden was busy.
But, I think Eubee, the snowy owl, might have been the star attraction for many.