I think my bees may be quite fussy eaters… Before they arrived I planted them a lovely patch of wildflowers.

WILD FLOWER MEADOW

VERBASCUM
They have campion (red and white), ox-eye daisies, self-heal, verbascum, foxgloves, thistles, knapweed, teasels, woundwort, ragwort, red and white dead nettles, speedwell, hemp agrimony, forget me nots, etc

TEASELS

OX EYE DAISIES

SELF HEAL
Add to this all my carefully chosen garden plants: Lavender, fennel, origano, thyme, hyssop, bergamot, spirea, sage, crocosmia, nicotiana, oriental poppies, coneflowers, californian poppies, lithospermum, chives, petrovskia, cistus, red hot pokers, scabious, blanket flower, delphiniums, geraniums, sedum, astrantia, mint, buddleia, senecio, lambs ears, roses, lamium etc…

BERGAMOT

ROSE William Shakespeare

CROCOSMIA Lucifer

BLANKET FLOWER

CAN’T REMEMBER?

ASTRANTIA

BUDDLEIA WITH RED ADMIRAL
Not to mention all the weeds (wildflowers) that I have allowed to make themselves at home amongst my flower beds: feverfew, musk mallow, herb robert, lemon balm, dandelions, bindweed

FEVERFEW

HERB ROBERT

MUSK MALLOW
And the hedgerows full of blackberry flowers, wild roses, honeysuckle, crab apple blossom, hawthorn and blackthorn – these last three have finished flowering by now as have most of the tree blossoms – willow, oak, beech, birch, alder and ash.

DOG ROSE

HAWTHORN

CRAB APPLES

BLACKBERRIES

ALDER
And the only flowers I have observed my honey bees on in my garden are….buddleia and lambs ears. – especially the lambs ears.

BEE ON LAMBS’ EARS (Stachys lanata)
If anyone thinks this post is just an excuse to put up photos of lovely flowers you are absolutely right!