My echinacea is doing really well --- that is, the ones Woody and Chucky haven't munched on. My bugbane bloomed for the first time. I think all the rain has really helped.

My Mango Popsicle Red Hot Pokers are the star right now.

I have some new Echinacia/Purple cone flower from Tomatoz1. Thanks Tomatoz1! We got it from you at the fall swap and I love it! Can't wait until they get bigger.

Garden Phlox is also looking very good.

The purple bell flowers have blooms but are starting to fall over.

I'm thinking of adding some Black Eyed Susan or one of it's variants in our former iris beds. Does anyone have extra they want to get rid of? We have baby Immortality Iris to trade. 9 fans have grown up in the bed we removed. One is on the edge so might be pink but is likely the white Immortality.

First of all, I can understand how we lost clover in the lawn mix. Treating lawns with weed killer takes out the Dutch white clover along with the intended broadleaf weeds. The clover has been blooming for a couple of weeks and there is a honeybee or bumblebee about every 3 steps. Don't go barefoot !

The gaillardia and rudbeckia are blooming. The goldenrod probably gets more attention from the bees than anything. The lavender was cut back and has regrown, albeit not as densely as a month ago. Hover bees and all the others love those flowers.

In the herb garden, the anise hyssop is getting ahead of my harvesting for herbal tea. Like its relative and your bee balm, it will get plenty of bee attention.

The annual plants are blooming now zinnias, marigolds and sunflowers. Probably the latter 2 are most bee appreciated.

Steve

Echinacea brings in bumble bees and honeybees as well as the Japanese beetles. Do the JP count as pollinators? All sorts of flying insects visit the creeping thyme. A few wild sunflowers brings in honeybees and a few others. Dutch clover is mostly being visited by bumble bees, The summer and winter squash mostly visited by squash bees. Really though our entire yard is just swarming with flying insects at this time of year.

gjcore said: The summer and winter squash mostly visited by squash bees.

I was just out in the garden and noticing how much attention the squash blossoms receive. But, I don't really know how to distinguish "squash bees" from others altho I recently learned that there are such critters, right across the US. In fact, there are a number of "bees" in every locale. I don't suppose that one would have to be entomologist to be able to identify several of them but I come nowhere close to knowing the differences between the species.

These lilies have been blooming well for about a week. They smell nice (as long as they are outdoors) and attract some "bees."

Steve

Sunflowers, coneflowers, tail end of the lavender. We have lots of bees too but sadly even more grasshoppers :{

bumblebee on pentas; hummers and bees on gladioli.

@mmmm12COzone5 I have black eye susan plenty, blooming now, should be good for you if you need

llgarden,

Yes I would like some. When would be a good time to come and get some? Do you want us to dig it?