The bees are working overtime as a chill spreads over September and winter downtime looms for them. So busy are they that there is competition for individual flowers – even though there are more than enough to go round. Bumbles were out in force yesterday, and there are still butterflies around, mainly tiny Small Coppers and Whites of different sizes.
We’ve done a quick assessment of plant popularity this spring and summer that produces this league table:
- Hyssop – the runaway winner for bees of many types, ditto butterflies and (new entry) moths. Planted for the first time in May, and has effortlessly thrived (throve? thriven?) to become Nectar Central.
- Lavender – perennial success with bees and butterflies. More planted this spring and very well visited.
- Cosmos – new to the garden this year, a fast and easy grower, and hugely popular with bees, especially bumbles. Also visited by honey bees and butterflies, but only on their way the the hyssop.
Blurry, I know, but the intruder arrived from nowhere as I pressed the button… Why it didn’t land on one of several vacant flowers next to this one, I have no idea. Maybe fighting drunk on pollen?
ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY 
I love your fluffy carder bees. I’ve noticed different preferences for the flowers when they have them all to chose from. I just wonder if they chose the same flowers in different countries as I am not always as successful as I would have imagined with some of the flowers that are recommended. I am definitely going to try Hyssop next year. It is funny to read this post as I was out in the garden watching the different order that my bumbles were being attracted to my flowers. There are still some other solitary bees around but very few, it is mainly the bumbles now.
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The carders are a wonderful pale colour. Maybe my favourite. Except… all the rest of them. It will be fun to see how you get on with ‘hysope’ next year. Well, I hope. Have your bumbles been squabbling over the late-season nectar rights? RH
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I’ve never seen them squabble. They do bumble and sometimes land on the same flower as another bee or bumble but it looks more like an accident when that happens.
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They’re absolutely gorgeous, I’d like to adopt one or two of your fluffy bees, RH! Wonderful shots. We harvest the lavender, but I have noticed at my friends places, the bees and also the butterflies seem to prefer the lavender to the buddleja.
Wishing you a great weekend.
Love from Cley next the Sea
Dina
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