Flowers with Honeybees. 8.20.2020

 Just a mixture of photos of flowers with honeybees.

I think borage is one of the top honeybee forage flowers.  They do self-seed, prolifically, year after year.  However, the volunteer seedlings are easy to pull out if not wanted.  Borage has a long period of blooming, and is at its peak when a lot of the others are done.

A groundcover sedum, I think Sedum kamtschaticum.  These were cuttings, basically trimmings from someones plant, they left them on the break table at work for anyone who wanted them.  I just stuck them in the ground, no special care, and they took off and filled their space.  Honeybees seem to like most of the Sedums.

Milkweed.  I think this one is Asclepias incarnata.   I had covered the area this Spring with a ground fabric and tree mulch, but it came up at the edge.  I'm glad it did.  It also has an offspring in a container, which I intend to transplant.

Oregano flowers are usually covered with honeybees.  You can hear them hum before you see them.

I don't know this flower.  It came up in the uncut grass.

Some of the Chinese chives are still blooming.  Good for honeybees, who are always all over the chive flowers.

More oregano.

This is the larger, bushier perennial type sedum.  It's similar to "Autumn Joy" but I don't think it is. 

Gardening Update. 5 Aug 2020.

I haven't taken photos of the harvests.  The garlic is all harvested, and we have been digging lots of potatoes.  Beans are doing well.

Here are some flowers.  This flower bowl with dianthus, petunias, and others, is doing well.

Many of the honeybee flowers are done.  The most activity now is on a few remaining poppies, oregano, and a few onions.  That's not enough to sustain the bees.  I planted the garlic bed, about 4 by 8 feet, with phacelia seeds, and a former iris bed, about 5 by 6 feet, with buckwheat.  I don't know if these well be helpful, or just serve as a cover crop.  I usually plant disturbances, such as molehills, with clover seeds.

I'm not adapting well to the change in the Blogger platform.  I will continue trying.  I may have to stop labeling, and just allow the search function.  The new label function is too difficult for me.

Sedum Planter.  No watering this summer, doing well.  Honeybees love the sedum flowers.  8.5.2020

I think the poppies start with a lot of pollen.  The honeybees mob the pollen - laden flowers, then when it's gone, that's that.  I'm starting to save seeds from these Shirley poppies for next year.

The oregano is one of the last flowers of the summer, that honeybees really love.  It's difficult to take a photo - these flowers are full of motion.  My plan is to divide them again this fall, for more plants next year.

These onions didn't do well at all, so I let them bloom.  Honeybees love all allium flowers.

These are garlic chives that finished blooming and are starting to set seeds.  Honeybees love these too, so the plan is to collect the seeds and plant more next year. 

Another Shirley poppy with lots of pollen for honeybees.

Garden Update. 6.21.2020

This update is kind of general, lots of areas of my garden. Being June, things are growing fast and there are fresh  fruits and vegetables now.  There has been a lot of rain, so not much chance to weed and cultivate, so there is some catch up to do.  I over-planted, so some areas are too crowded.

This year I've been feeding the hummingbirds a lot more.  They are coming back and emptying the feeder every day.

Most of the vegetables are growing very well.  If something doesn't grow, I replace it. 

Bush beans didn't grow or something was eating the seeds from underground, despite protecting them above ground.  However the later planted rows are ok and growing true leaves now.  Sweetcorn also germinated unevenly and I replanted one bloc.  The first bloc is uneven.  I suppose the slower ones will catch up. 

I planted too many snowpeas.  The seeds were about 6 years old, and I didn't know if they would grow.  The Taiwan Sugar variety is hard to find, and those were seeds I had saved myself.  As it turned out, most did grow, about half of the Taiwan Sugar and most of the Oregon Spring.  The Taiwan Sugar is a bit less vigorous, but much earlier. None yet from Oregon Spring, but they are blooming now, very pretty.

I also planted the squashes where they don't have room to ramble as much as they will.  I had planted potatoes in the fenced garden because the nonfenced area was not ready, which resulted in some room limitation.  I will plan next year better. Still, the potatoes will be done in July, a month from now.

It was not a problem moving raspberry floricane plants this Spring.  They are bearing nicely and sent up a bunch of sturdy primocanes for next year.  The berries are tasty.

I thought I might have planted the pickle cucumbers too early, but they are growing very nice now.  So are the other cucumbers.  Dill isn't growing well.  Maybe it will take off soon.  Cilantro is growing nice.  On the other hand, I got the Jalapenos in too late.  They seem to be growing faster now so might still get a crop later.

I really enjoy those sedum / sempervivum planters, and they should never or almost never need watering.  They are very nice to look at.

Brunswick fig is looking pretty good this year.  Some are within deer reach, so I should do something about that.

Hummingbirds are emptying their feeder every day. 6.20.2020

Sedum planters filled in so nice.  Some are about to bloom. 6.20.2020

I think I know what to plant outside the fence.  Deer don't touch most herbs.  6.20.2020

I think a lot of the bush beans didn't grow because I planted them too early.  The last batch is growing nicely.  6.20.2020

More bush beans.  6.20.2020

The thornless raspberries that I moved in May did very well.  There have been berries to taste and primocanes are growing larger than the floricanes.  6.21.2020

The bush cucumbers (I think "Bushmaster" maybe?) are filling in.  I thought I planted them too early but they are doing well.  The dill is not growing so fast.  Cilantro looks good.  The mini apple tree grafts are behind the raised bed to shade the containers.  They look very good.  6.20.2020

More herbs, on the other side of the fenced garden.  6.20.2020

The sweetcorn is quite variable.  I wonder how much we will get.  There is still plenty of time for it to fill in.  6.20.2020

More sweetcorn, planted later.  Something ate a lot of the first plants.  6.20.2020

Sarracenia.  So lovely.  6.20.2020

Brunswick fig.  Maybe it will bear this year.  Some figs are too low, within deer reach.  6.20.2020

Emerging Perennials. 3.#9.19

Bearded Irises.  3.29.19

Bearded Irises in Border, Bark Mulched.  3.29.19

Itoh Peonies.  3.29.19

Euphorbias. 3.29.19

Sedum.  2.29.19

Update. 9.21.16

Buffalo Grape.  9.21.16

Rock Garden Perennial Border.  9.21.16

 I've been trying to work through some hardware issues, which resulted in decreased posting.  I don't usually carry my good camera around while working in the garden, because I tend to damage delicate equipment.  The Apple equipment is a few years old (I-phone and I-pad) and I've found that Apple equipment does not age well.  In addition, back-compatibility of program updates is poor, and Apple inc is too overbearing with their treatment of users, so I've been de-appling my computer life. 

Things are starting to come together again, on my old Windows-based laptop.  Meanwhile, I've been removing hardscaping from the old place in prep for eventual sale, mainly a koi pond that presented a child hazard.  I'm not a young man any more, so hauling wheel barrows of rocks has taken a month, and it's not done yet.

With cooler weather, I renovated the worst of the house perennial borders at the Battleground house.

Border, with labels.  9.21.16

 That renovation involved - removal of thistles and wild mustard, both of which have been tenacious and invasive.  I laid down newspaper or cardboard, torn such that water can seep through, but hoping that weeds and grasses will mostly be smothered.  I removed most of the bearded irises  - ugly about 90% of the year, and too welcoming to grass weeds.  I planted divided sedums, sempervivums that I had been growing in old iris beds as a ground cover, kept daylilies and divided some, kept helleborus and some sedum in place, planted crocosmia that I divided from the old place, moved poppy roots, with dormant top, and added lambs ears - Stachys byzantina, and echinacea varieties, both of which were on the almost-dead table at Fred Meyer and Home depot, on deep sale.  These were root bound, so I cut off the winding roots, cut slits into the root ball, planted and watered in.  They perked up and look much better now.  I deep-mulched with tree arborist chips.   The border still needs some river-rock for the edge / pathway, but is almost done.

The goal is a bed with very reduced maintenance, mostly drought tolerant plants but that respond to some care, mostly deer and rabbit tolerant plants, at a very low cost.  The only new plants were deep sale with some need for TLC.

Sourdough Pizza with peppers, cayennes, and onions.  9.21.16

Meanwhile, with so many tomatoes and peppers, I've been trying to find ways to eat them.  This sourdough pizza came out pretty good.   The sourdough crust used my usual starter, with just flour, water, and salt, no other additives.  These are Nikita peppers (green) and cayennes (red) - really tasty.

Sedum propagation. 10.4.15

Sedum propagation.  10.4.15

I'll add more photos from my home computer.  This one is at Battleground.

All of the large-plant sedum stem cuttings that I took 8.18.15 have taken root and grown.  So it's roughly 6 weeks.  They also have flower buds and growth of new stems from the base.  This is true for the green-leaf and red-leaf types.

Very cool.   For almost no effort, and from 2 original stems cut into shorter pieces,  I now have a half dozen new sedum plants.

Two of the leaf cuttings have grown roots.  It will take longer to see if they will grow.  most of the leaf cuttings died.

UPDATE:  These are the other sedum cuttings.  Again, these are large - type sedums.  Some are the type sold as "Autumn Joy".    For the smaller sedums, all that is needed is cut off a bunch of pieces with a pair of scissors, insert the cut end into some soft soil, and treat them like seedlings with a little water and weeding.  I've never had a sedum not-grow from that type of cutting.

More sedum cuttings.  10.6.15

 It's interesting to see that some of the cuttings produced more terminal stems, then flowers.  That is even though these are pieces that I cut from the original, long stem, and potted up each one.  And they all have little plants growing around the base of the cuttings.

The plan is that, once winter sets in, keep these in a sheltered place during the coldest weather, and plant in the bee border late Winter / early Spring.

Bee Forage. 9.1.15

My Bee Border.  9.1.15

Honeybee Foraging Buckwheat Flowers.  9.1.15

 This is a difficult time for honeybees to find forage.   There isn't a lot blooming in the fields out there.  Some dandelions, wild carrot, and tansy ragwort.  Tansy ragwort has toxicity issues.  The honeybees don't seem to care for the wild carrot and have been ignoring the local dandelions.

While, in bee terms, my gardening efforts are small, they do forage heavily on some plants that I selected for that purpose.

Buckwheat - the foraging is variable.  Sometimes when I look, there are few bees present.   Then I look again an hour later, and the buckwheat flowers are full of bees.  Overall, this plant seems to be very good for honeybee forage.

The Chinese chives flowers are always full of bees.  As a perennial, this plant has good potential for bee forage in a flower border.  I don't know how much it takes to make a difference, but the bees are crazy about it.

There are always some bees on the French marigold flowers.  More on orange flowers than on yellow or brick red.  I am saving seeds from these plants for next year.  I like the yellow and brick red better, but I am saving some from each so the honeybees get some they like too.

Borage continues to bloom and honeybees continue to forage it.  This is the 3rd wave, from volunteer plants.

Pink Sedum is in full bloom.  Each flower head is busy with multiple honeybees.

All of these plants make an attractive front flower border.  The annuals and perennials make a nice mixture.  The perennials can be divided for more plants next year. and in the case of the Chinese chives, both divided and seeds saved.  I have cut dried flower heads from those, saving in a paper bag to dry more thoroughly.  I am saving seeds from the annual French marigolds.  I might from the borage as well. So next year, this bee border will be zero cost, and little effort.  I don't  have buckwheat in the border.  The garden rol of buckwheat is to build soil and potentially provide some grain.  However, a few buckwheat plants would also be attractive in a flower border.

Honeybees Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Honeybees Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Native Bee Foraging Marigold Flower.  9.1.15

Native Bee

Honeybee Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Honeybees Foraging Sedum Flowers.  9.1.15

Buckwheat Stand.   About one month after sowing.  9.1.15

Honeybee on Marigold Flower.  9.1.15

Bee Forage. 8.23.15

Buckwheat in bloom.  8.23.5

Honebee on buckwheat flower.  8.23.15

 Buckwheat is in full bloom.  I planted the buckwheat seeds 7.21.15 to 7.23.15.  They started blooming, barely, one week ago.  So it takes about 3 weeks to begin blooming, and 4 weeks to be in full bloom.

Yesterday I did not see bees foraging the buckwheat.  Today they are foraging in force.


I replanted some bare patches where I must not have spread the seeds evenly, today.  I also planted buckwheat seed among the cornstalks, where I harvested that last of the sweetcorn today.

Other bee forage:

Very active on Chinese Chive, compact version.
Autumn Joy - type Sedum starting to bloom and activity is growing.
Active on  the remaining borage and oregano.

Honeybee on Buckwheat Flower.  8.23.15

Honeybees on Sedum flowers.  8.23.15

Honeybees Foraging Sedum Flowers.  8.23.15

Cluster of Autum Joy - Type Sedum, Starting to Bloom.  8.23.15

The sedum flowers are just beginning to open.  Sedum is a bee favorite - they will be foraging with many bees per flower cluster, until the plant is finished blooming.

I'm impressed with how long the oregano blooms and is foraged.  It looks almost done, but the bees appear to seek out every last flower.  When they are done, I want to save seeds for starting a much larger patch next year.

Honeybee on Oregano.  8.23.15