Which plant in your garden attracted the most bees today?

[paulinemiller10]

Originally Posted by AshL

Sorry to hijack this, but for some reason I can't make a new thread (on the subject of this thread, its the knapweed and the remains of the foxglove that they're interested in today).

Its the first time I've had a garden, and I've had to create this one from scratch. After browsing through books for bee/butterfly friendly plants, amongst other things I put in a Hebe Caledonia, a Potentilla Red Ace, and some sweet rocket. I'm now wondering though if those varieties are sterile or something as nothing will touch them even though they're fully in flower? The bees even zoom around in the general area of them, then either head over to the knapweed or disappear completely. Can anyone help? If the hebe and potentilla are the wrong variety, can anyone recommend anything better or another small flowering shrub? I hate to have plants in the garden that aren't useful to wildlife, cos its such a small garden and I don't have room for the usual big flowering shrubs etc.

Many thanks,
AshL

I think its something to do with smell, if one bumble starts visiting a flower, it will mark it to return, its fellow workers find the scent and will feed there too, and they seem to stay on that plant until it runs out, so it may depend on which flowering plant they decide to feed on next.

I feed bumblebees in a feeder, they have several sweet drinks in milk tops, but will keep drinking until its dry before moving to the next one, I wash all the tops every other day, and they don't like it one bit, they buzz around upset, smelling all the tops, and won't drink, it takes a while before they settle down again.
A bumble coming to feed will go to the same milk top, and it has to be in the same spot, then it will go to another, but has to drink in the same position every time it visits the feeder.
I am busy feeding the bumblebees this year, link below to the Bumblebee Story.

Bumble Bee Story.

Pauline.

[threadspider]

In my garden at present it is Lavender and Campanaula portenschlagiana, the Dalmatian bellflower. It has been in flower for weeks and solitary bees seem to love it.
Judith

[jayvee64]

My pots of thyme are covered in bees now they're in flower, buddleia and escallonia bushes too

[lilylove]

Fuchsias .... absolute swarms of bees on these ('Beacon' and 'Mrs Popple'). Other varieties such as 'Tom Thumb' and 'Magellanica' are not even attracting a sniff!

[shenk1]

Still the lavender followed by wild poppies

Hoverflies loving the scabious,pontentilla and canary creeper.

Big Buddliea just coming into flower so watch this place

[Cordaline]

I counted atleast 20 various Bee's at one point on my Lavender today.

[ChrisJB]

Buddleia 'Loch Inch'. Oodles of bees.

Regards, Chris

[Deb London]

The Cynara cardunculus in my garden seems to hold an almost fatal attraction for the Red-tailed Bumblebee. More often than not, one is engrossed in the sole flower that is out at the moment. This flower is much earlier than all the others and I'm looking forward to studying what happens when they all open.

[Deb London]

The queen turned up today, bypassing the cardoons and making a beeline (*groan*) for some fresh sunflowers followed by some not-so-fresh buddleia flowers. Here she is on one of the sunflowers.

[faz]

lots of red tails on my lambs ear