A few photos of the wilderness which is our garden :)
There are three main patches of wildflower meadow in the garden area - we will scythe these when the flowers have set seed and then I will mow them again as normal lawn, but for now they are wild and wonderful :)
lots of wildflowers in the flower beds
Moving out into the woodland area the Elderflower is in full bloom now - I need to get on and make cordial!
Walking up the mown path in the pool wildflower meadow
One of the many nettle beds - nettles are very valuable to insect life as well s being a great compost fertility booster
At the back of the polytunnel is a comfrey bed, mixed with a very rambling rose it is smothered in bumblebees and other insects.
And the bumblebee nest on the garage wall is getting buzzier and buzzier (!)
I am making a new bee attracting flower bed and also sowing lots more wild flower seed everywhere - I aim to make Compost Mansion and the garden and grounds as wildlife friendly as I possibly can.
It seems that someone has told the bumble bees that bird boxes are a good place to nest this year. We have a couple here and as beekeepers, we have had several calls from people wanting help to get rid of bees in their bird boxes We won't of course and assure folk that they will not be bothered by them.
ReplyDeleteBombus hypnorum - its a new ish Bumblebee which has gradually moved across from Europe to the UK - and it is the Tree Bumblebee - and likes nesting in holes in trees - which of course is what a nest box looks like :-)
ReplyDeleteMy next post has a brilliant photo of the entry hole, with guard bees :-)
So many lovely wildflowers and buzzy bees... love it :o)
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie :-)
DeleteHow do you harvest the honey from a nest. I spin or heat to remove from a frame type hive. I have never seen these in the USA. Just curious. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteThey are wild Bumblebees Little Messy Missy not Honey bees :-)
DeleteThey don't make stores of honey as such, as only the new Queens survive the winter. All the workers die off at the end of the summer.