Halloblondie - What a gorgeous sunflower plant!!! Yes, bees love sunflower plants. I always plant some for the bees. :) Great pictures!

Carol

Great bee pics everyone! :-)

Oh wonderful!!! Do you know what kind of bumblee that is? I have trouble figuring out what type they are.

Carol

I also have no clue, haha! I have seen probably 20 different bee varieties in my yard this summer. I don't know any names, maybe over the winter I will do some insect research. I'm still trying to learn about all the varieties of roses!!!

I need a bee specialist to come to my yard and point at each one and name them...that's the only way I'd ever figure it out. LOL

Carol

Took this just this morning.

A rogue Sunflower growing by the Cucumber trellis.

Kind of turning into a cucumber trellis, actually.

Bee doesn't seem to mind, though.

Almost looks like a wasp is there too. I just love sunflowers!!

Carol

And here's more

Halloblondie - such wonderful pictures of bees!!! Great job!!! And your merle pinscher?? looks fascinated by the bee!! Good thing he/she knows to look and not touch!

Carol

She is half chihuahua & half Manchester terrier. Manchester terriers look a lot like min pins, so you were not completely off! She is a fiesty little thing. She was trying to hunt it. She has had a great summer chasing the bees, birds & squirrels so far. She is only 9 months old. Fastest dog I've ever seen. Thinking of training her for agility. She can make insane jumps for her size. She only weighs 6 lbs. Sorry that was off topic. She also loves sniffing in all the garden beds & checking out the flowers!

Fantastic pics everyone! :-)

It's a bee paradise here!

Not sure if this is a bee or not. It's tiny with stripes.

ctgardenguy - Love the bee!! What is the flower you're showing?? It's gorgeous!! Your bumblebee certainly loves it!!

Halloblondie - your first bee looks like it's made of glass!!! How stunning!!! Yes, I can see the mix now that you mention it! The chihauhau (sp?) really stands out. I think your dog would love agility. You might have trouble keeping up though :)

Carol

It's a dahlia. I don't know the actual name of the dahlia. This year I planted a dahlia named "Bee Happy". The buds haven't opened yet, but we'll see if it lives up to its name.

Halloblondie - what is the name of the orange/peach colored rose that you posted? Like it! Need it!

@ctgardenguy - it's westerland. Should do really well in your zone. Palatine roses carries it online. I picked mine up at a garden centre in the spring. It was new this year. It is already 3.5 feet tall. Has had 2 flushes of roses & is growing again. And has had no black spot. So far happy with it. I'll have to see how the winter treats it.

Oh! A dahlia!! They're not hardy here. I planted a bulb last year and it bloomed. So I overwintered the bulb in my basement then replanted it in the spring. So far it hasn't come up yet.

Carol

I've seen all kinds of bees this year. Even learned about ground bees that come out in the early spring. I was pretty happy when I discovered what they were and glad they were around. I think I have Andrena here.

http://modernfarmer.com/2016/06/ground-bees/

I was in the process of trying to dig up a patch of horseradish. I didn't even know what THAT was, had to post pictures in the "Name that Plant" forum, where everybody groaned when they saw it.

Of course, at least one decided to build her nest IN the big, deep hole where I had been painstakingly removing the horseradish root. :-(

Felt terrible thinking I'd be covering up her babies and them not being able to get out next spring...

Needless to say I abandoned that end of the few feet of giant horseradish plants.

So now I have not only horseradish, but a big empty hole I can't fill, sprouting little horseradish plants! :-P Not to mention a bunch of unopened bags of topsoil sitting around specifically for the horseradish eradication project. LOL! Yep, really pretty yard, I tell ya!

Tried to work from the other end after that, but haven't made much progress. Totally wanted to try and get out as much as possible right away. It is taking up prime "Rose Space" at our new place, but I hear it is a pain in the a** to get rid of, and now I have super pollinators living in the excavated hole where I had made my only progress!

Oh well, the bees are way more important. I'll get back on the project next spring after I know they have emerged. And try to fill the hole quick. I'm sure they will stay, they came from the yard so they will just find a new spot.

I though it hilarious one or two chose my giant hole to build their condos! :-)

Whats a gardener to do, I tell ya! ;-) Im going to just ignore the horseradish and smell the OTHER roses in the meantime! :-)

Oh that's wonderful that you are so generous with your yard for the bees. :) For sure, solitary bees always find a new spot the next year. I sure don't envy you having to dig up all that horseradish. Maybe you could try the lasagna method. That's what I've done. It includes no digging, and you get wonderful soil in return. :)

Carol

Thanks, Carol! I like to be kind to my animal friends... they are all important in the grand scheme of things! I'd love to have a hive of honeybees. I went to a local association seminar a couple years ago, and was so hoping to start a hive, but decided the apartment wasn't the best place to do so. Our new yard is not huge even now, but fairly private, so it could be a possibility now.

Actually, it had crossed my mind to try covering the horseradish lasagna style, or even solarization (though not sure if our summers would give long enough temperatures for long enough... must research) However, my gut tells me that either of these methods may just end up encouraging the horseradish to spread.

My thinking is if I cover it in any way it will just try and come up outside the perimeter of the covering. And if I then cover that... the same result. Thus encouraging root growth outside the known perimeter to where it will try and survive elsewhere.

I haven't any research to back this theory up. It is just something that crossed my mind as I followed the roots under fairly big flagstone steppers, thinking that it was just on it's way toward more fertile ground. If not for letting the mother plants survive and thrive, I am sure I'd have WAY more than the one, rather thick 6 or 7 ft long and couple foot wide patch. It would just climb under the flagstone and make it's home in the past owners veggie garden, and trail the opposite way into the grass lawn that I plan on converting to complete flowerbed.

I spent the season thinking about this, and though I need to do more reading I resolved to just dig and dig and dig, and then paint the dreaded RU on any emerging shoots after the giant excavation. I never like that idea, but desperate times may call for desperate measures.

I have some "tests" going on right now. Recycling bins full of earth removed from the offending plot with only hair sized roots remaining from the main roots of the plants, as well as some nursery pots of dug up, neglected small plants to try and asses how resilient the smallest shoots are, and if they can be done away with by smothering.

I'm curious if the little roots actually sprout plants by next season, given that they are only hair sized feeders. I figure since I can't really dig right now. I might as well learn something in the process and see what evolves.

If I need to discard all the earth I will, but I am hoping that I don't see regrowth. So far I don't, only in the pit I dug that I had to abandon cause of the bees, which I had not really finished removing/following the larger, pencil sized roots.

It may totally be possible to lasagna or solarize horseradish, still need to do the research. Just been too busy with other house projects. It is a good idea though and I totally appreciate the suggestion!!! :-) I should have been testing the other end of the row all summer, come to think of it!

In the meantime, everyone is getting horseradish for the holidays! LOL! :-)

Excuse my derail of the thread... More Bee Pictures, Everyone!!

Horseradish for the holidays!!! Ha!!! Love it!!

I've never heard of solarization. I'll have to research that!!

My thinking is that if you dig a trench (narrow) around the lasagna method which should cover (using layers of cardboard etc.) the entirety of the horseradish..that may work. But you're right...you need to think about this.

I've always wanted to have a beehive too!!! I have about 8 books on bees. I am just fascinated.

CArol

Our bumblebee populations seem to be way down this year. I have seen a lot of honeybees though and other types of bees, wasps, etc.

Anyhow took these pics today but after looking at the pics I noticed it was a Carpenter Bee (shiny rearend)

Oh Jim!!!! Those have got to be the best bee pictures I've every seen!!! Incredible detail!!!

I never realized that they have a bald spot. And the waist is sooo tiny! Incredible!

Such a wonderful study of a bee. Thank you so much!!!!

Carol

Glad you likey Carol... :-)

:)

Carol

These shots are a bit out of focus but I'm going to share them anyhow.... lol

Some type of other flying insect that likes flowers...

Jim, that's a hummingbird moth. I remember seeing one in Fort McMurray years ago and wondering what the heck it was. Pretty bizarre looking.

Ooooh - the wasp found the caterpillar thing. Awesome!! Love the bee pictures too! Great shots!!

Carol

Just a couple of bees doing errands

This one was being shy for the camera

I think it's so cute, when their little bums stick up in the air while getting pollen. It reminds me of Winnie the Pooh in the honey jar!

Bitsandbytes - I love those!!! Bees in stereo!!!

I am so happy having all of these bee pictures in one place.

:)

Carol

Munstead Wood and Sedum

Wow - your Munstead Woood looks better than mine!

Your sedum is going to explode!!

Love the carpenter bee on the sedum!!! Looks like bee paradise!

Carol

This year been outstanding for bees in my garden. Hummingbirds, too. The butterfly situation is just ok.

Oh!! You get hummingbirds!!! I'd love to have hummingbirds. :) I even bought a feeder last year - but gave up. No butterflies here.

Good for you for having so many bees! Bees are the bomb (bombus terrestrius)!! :)

Carol

Oooh!! That butterfly is gorgeous!!

Are those honeybees? I know that blanket flowers (1st picture) are fabulous for bees. What is the rose in your 2nd picture? It's beautiful!!

Carol

Ah Carol it's the Delany sister again! I think you need to add her to your pot collection! You keep liking her whenever I post a pic of it!!!

I thought it was the Delaney Sisters!!! Is it fragrant??

Carol

halloblondie, What is that white rose you posted? It sure is pretty, wide open like that, and love the photo!

ctgardenguy, your Munstead Wood is beautiful!

bitsandbytes, your photo of the twin roses with the twin bee visitors is great! Made me smile!!

@rosecanadian - according to online info - very fragrant! My nose is not great. I'm allergic to a lot of flowers! Oh the irony!!!

@merlcat - if you are referring to the white with yellow stamens? That is Oscar Peterson. He has cute blooms & glossy foliage, hardy to zone 3. Too new to say much more yet.

Halloblondie - oooh :( being alllergic to flowers....sad, sad when you love flowers so much!!! I guess I should jump at thhe Delaney Sisters if I ever find it. Sounds like it's fabulous.

Carol

Jim, I saw these pictures in the other thread. Love all the bee pictures!! Your zinnias are such pretty flowers.

Carol

Carol and all, I have spent some late night time just now, viewing these wonderful photos, and I'll look at them again, for sure. Jim, I think you should be a wildlife photographer who specializes in insects--I've never seen such a good pics of bees and butterflies. (Tip: grow zinnias again). Of course, the deer is my favorite...looks just like ours, except for the ones with the clown faces--ha. They like to scare little kids. My bee pics aren't so good, but I'll look again to see if I can find one or two. Anyway, I enjoyed all this so much. Thanks for starting this thread, Carol. Diane

Diane - I've sure enjoyed it too! And I agree - Jim has shown us some absolutely gorgeous bee shots!!

Carol

Bee is a little out of focus; visiting Helen Hayes.

Steven

Nice pics MiGreenThumb!

Your bees are loving your roses!!! They look lovely. I love the colors of bees and how fuzzy they are. Thanks for showing us your delightful bees!

Your swallowtail is very striking!

Carol