The bees have been out in force in full foraging mode this month. Their feast began with Alliums and the first blooms on the Geums, together with the white Comfrey, beloved by the hairy-footed flower bees, which has provided a constant source of nectar since March.
Throughout the month a succession of flowering plants has supported the bumblebees as their colonies continue to grow, and the solitary bees as they begin to stock their nest holes with food to support the grubs that will emerge within.
Those most visited include:
Alliums “Purple Sensation”
Apple blossom
Bearded Iris
Geranium spessart
Geranium phaeum “Black Widow”
Geums
Iris pseudacorus
Iris siberica
Laburnum
Solomon’s Seal
Welsh poppy
White comfrey
The Laburnum, nicknamed the humming tree, and Geraniums may be attracting the highest numbers of buzzy visitors,
but it is the Alliums that are the star of the pollinator friendly patch this month.
They have welcomed the widest range of species, visited by red-tailed bumblebees, early bumblebees, common carders, and a variety of solitary bees.
And just as the bright globes of “Purple Sensation” are going to seed, the giant heads of Allium Christophii are beginning to open ready to welcome June.
