Wild Flowers

[EmsE]

I enjoy being in my garden, mainly the veg bed but have finally incorporated a proper flower bed after a few years of being nagged. This has resulted in a complete restructuring of the garden, leaving only the pond and the raspberries in their original homes. Even the hedge (those green weed things) has been dug up by the roots (sooo satisfying) and are being replaced with a mixed fruiting variety for the wildlife.

I know what types of flowers are growing in my garden, including most of the weeds (they're in as chicken food- honest) but it struck me that I'm not too familiar with those growing in the wild. Most of those I do know (except for the obvious dandelions etc learned from childhood) are those that have been pointed out by other bee keepers such as rosebay willowherb and Himalayan balsam.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread to identify flowers, or even to find out if a particular one is friendly to bees.

I took my boy for a bike ride the other day and snapped all the different flowers in the hedgerow that are in flower at the moment, a couple (probably more if I'm honest) I don't know what they are or if honey bees visit them. OK, one of them wasn't in the hedgerow, it was growing out of a wall opposite the hedgerow.
Does anyone know what they are?

[gavin]

Tufted vetch, Vicia cracca - a bee plant but, of course, it is never in great abundance so makes a small contribution. Same family as beans, peas, lupins.

Ivy-leaved toadflax, Cymbalaria muralis - don't know if bees go for this. Usually on walls (hence muralis). Scrophulariaceae family, with snapdragons (flowers look similar), mulleins, figworts.

[marion.orca]

Someone after my own heart ! My garden is my sanctuary - a part of my soul if I'm honest. We moved to this house a little over 2 years ago to a veritable neglected jungle full of rhodedendrons about 20 ft high. So first job was taking it all back to bare roots [ or none at all ] giving me a blank canvas to work on. Then it was my mission to create wildlife habitats for all the wildlife. So first a pond, then wild native hedging and apart from the veggie beds for us, I will only plant native wild flowers which are beneficial to wildlife - in any shape or form. Trial and error has been a big part of it, but so far it is being hugely successful in attracting a large variety of pond-life, a huge variety of insect life, scores of birds, mice, voles and a family of Pine Martens. This year I have noticed that my honeybees come from about 1/4 of a mile away to gorge on the Hemp Agrimony, so I will certainly be propagating that to increase next year. I would recommend that one. I also forage for seeds in the wild [ not too many though ] and throw them into the wild area which is never touched - some succeed, some don't. It's not a huge garden, just jam packed with wild native species and tidy 'ish in an untidy sort of way.

[gavin]

Sounds wonderful, Marion, and unusual for a gardener to be so focussed on natives. Much of the ethos in gardening over a few hundred years has been to introduce the exotic.

That ivy-leaved toadflax looks for the all the world as if it has always been here but apparently was introduced in the 1600s from the Mediterranean and has since spread to all the places in the UK in which it is happy to grow. It is a bit patchy in N Scotland but common elsewhere. Maybe it displaces some natives but it doesn't look like quite the ecological thug (with benefits for pollinators) that Himalayan balsam seems to be.

[marion.orca]

I don't really class [ if that's the right word ] as a gardener as such and I sometimes read with a certain amount of envy, the vast variety of bee forage that exists in other parts of the country, making me think my bees are a wee bit hard done by over here in West. There's a steep bank in front of the house which is cut every week by the council, BUT would be ideal for a wild flower meadow creation [ it currently serves as nothing more than a huge dog toilet for lazy inconsiderate dog owners ]. There are already native bluebells, fox and hounds, buttercups and various other species which grow there and get mown down in their prime and it is my next mission at the end of summer to persuade the community council to leave bank uncut next year, add a few foraged native seeds and let it grow naturally, which can only help the ecosystem. It will also add visual enhancement to the village and could be a scheme that be allowed in other areas. Money saving too.

[chris]

The vetch is a beautiful plant which patches the pastures with very bright colours in the sun. Sheep love it,so do rabbits,so do the hay makers. They all seem to want it at the same time as the bees. Here it flowers at about the same time as the lime, so I never used to see that many bees on it, but this year with the lime not flowering, the bees have had a feast.


and a family of Pine Martens. .

Well, round here the martens are classed as *nuisance* which means we can eliminate them. I know, they look lovely, and they are all part of the ecosystem, but when they slit the throats of all your chickens to suck the blood, or just for fun, then you see things differently. If you keep any bees nearby watch out in winter- I had a floor clawed out by one, and all the bees died off from the disturbance in cold weather.
René has a mean trap for them- back in the '70s, he used to collect £50 per skin.

[chris]

and it is my next mission at the end of summer to persuade the community council to leave bank uncut next year, add a few foraged native seeds and let it grow naturally, which can only help the ecosystem. .

I don't know if anything ever came of it, but a short while back, it was a possible European project to give money to help with hedgerow preservation, and planting bee friendly plants by councils along the roadside. Might be worth trying to check up on it.

[marion.orca]

Thanks Chris - I'll certainly keep my eye out for wild vetch whilst I'm out foraging and put some in the garden as a starter plant. I may have a tussle on my hands where the bank is concerned, it took me over a year to convince the community council, the laird, the neighbours etc. of the benefit of having a hive here. But I am if nothing if not determined, so suceeded eventually. Ah, the martens. They have been awarded full legal protection since 1998 I think it is, due to our persecution of them which put them on the endangered list. Here it is still the second rarest animal, only preceded by the Scottish Wildcat. So, to me that means helping and encouraging them in any way possible. Though I don't keep hens ! I do feed them every night and work on the principle that if they are well fed in my garden, they are less likely to feel the need to kill needlessly elsewhere. I'll check out to see if there are any grants etc. available, but really, fingers crossed, shouldn't need to go down that route.

[Trog]

When I give my wee talk on 'Gardening for Bees', it doesn't take the audience very long to realise that a large number of my photos are of 'weeds'! As our garden's very old, just letting the grass grow allows a great variety of wild flowers to flourish. Once they've finished, they and the long grass are gradually scythed back, a haynet-full per day, and fed to the horse, who kindly provides compost for the veg plot and home-made greenhouse growbags. The bits of the garden she grazes are controlled by electric fence to allow the white clover to flourish. Seems to work well, though a bit labour-intensive (but then, so is mowing every week for those that prefer that way of doing things!)

[marion.orca]

What advice to you give in your talk Trog ? and are there any particular species you would personally recommend for the West coast ? I can see we are going to have to have a wee day trip over to Mull, so that I can peep over your garden fence [ and raid your seeds ] We usually head for Killiechronan, so we can have a look at the sea-eagles. I'm on a red and white clover quest this week - as long as the weather dries up.

[EmsE]

The vetch is something I'd like to introduce to the wild flower part of the garden. The area around my pond is not often weeded for that reason, but the creeping buttercup does need thinning out on a regular basis. I'd welcome any tips on native plants for bees.

Often I hear that although the clover is in flower, its not yielding. How do we know for certain that a particular plant is producing nectar when the conditions appear to be right for them to do so. Is it relying on identifying the pollen that the bees are bringing back to the hive? Because they are bringing back the pollen, would that necessarily mean they are bringing back nectar?

[Trog]

Well, it's an hour's talk! Try escallonia for hedging, cotoneaster all varieties, bluebells, dandelions (and you can eat the leaves). White clover's better than red for honeybees but the bumbles and other insects enjoy the latter. Borage. Sycamore (grows everywhere), and you'll have gorse nearby, surely? Cornflower. I can dig you a clump of a yellow perennial that grows like a weed ... wait till autumn for that. How's that for a start?

[chris]

The vetch is something I'd like to introduce to the wild flower part of the garden. The area around my pond is not often weeded for that reason, but the creeping buttercup does need thinning out on a regular basis. I'd welcome any tips on native plants for bees.

Often I hear that although the clover is in flower, its not yielding. How do we know for certain that a particular plant is producing nectar when the conditions appear to be right for them to do so. Is it relying on identifying the pollen that the bees are bringing back to the hive? Because they are bringing back the pollen, would that necessarily mean they are bringing back nectar?

No, it doesn't.The bees forage on nectar when the conditions are right. It's not necessarily the same bees that collect the nectar and the pollen.It's not necessarily at the same time. For instance, for the clover trifolium incarnatum, I've read that the bees feed on the nectar in the morning and forage the pollen in the afternoon.

Here are some wild flowers that I would choose for their beauty, and their usefulness for bees. I don't know which are native where you are, but someone else more local will know.

Sainfoin; lucerne; coronilla varia; convolvulus arvensis; thymus serpyllum; centaurea jacea; poppies; coltsfoot for some early pollen.

Oh yes, and if you have them in Scotland, thistles ;)

[marion.orca]

Escallonia is one I haven't got [ as yet ] - the others are either growing nearby or I have planted. Thanks Trog. Sainfoin I have planted, but it hasn't done too well as yet, poppies are flowering, knapweed in, thyme a plenty, and I'm pretty certain we have thistles in Scotland. When I get a moment Emse, I'll give you a list of what I have planted if that will help in your search for plants.

[EmsE]

Hi Marion, that would be great thanks. Thanks Trog & Chris these are all really useful especially if they grow like a weed;)

On holiday until Friday which will be good to see what else is growing in the other local hedgerows. We have load of thistles in the wild (would look good in the garden too) I've put them in an album in my profile.

Our council seem to be cutting just 1 (mower)strip of the grass at the side of the road and letting the rest flower. There are poppies etc in there. I just hope they don't cut it back too soon.

[chris]

I'd forgotten plantain. The bees work those tiny flowers like mad for the pollen.

[gavin]

I'd forgotten plantain. The bees work those tiny flowers like mad for the pollen.

I think that they must like its asteroid-like nature.

http://www.ssb.plymouth.ac.uk/labplus/head/Pollen_Key/pollenimages/Plantago_lancelolata1.jpg

Particularly in France, where this book is more influential:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Littleprince.JPG/250px-Littleprince.JPG

[Mellifera Crofter]

My contribution to Wild Flowers: I went to Applecross last weekend and saw this flower:

1209

I was told it's a Scottish orchid. Is that so? Do the bees like them?

Kitta

[HJBee]

Beautiful Kitta, looks like an Orchid, not sure re Bees, but who cares when something is as lovely as that!

[gavin]

Ahh! Orchid, did you say? My favourites ...

Heath spotted orchid. Dactylorhiza ericetorum. Dactylorhizas ('finger-roots') are the marsh orchids and we have a good range in Scotland including one found nowhere else. You'll get that one across large areas of the Highlands, and it tolerates strongly acid soils unlike many of the other species.

Do bees like it? I'm sure that they hate it! Various bees and solitary wasps stick their heads in occasionally, and probably regret it. The pollen is in a solid mass on a stalk with a sticky blobs at the end which rupture when the insect sticks its head in. The flower is really designed for small solitary bees and wasps and these pollen masses get stuck onto the face or top of the head. The stalk twists as it dries so that the pollen mass is facing the stigma of the next flower the insect visits (yup, bees are that stupid).

Here are some on a bumble bee:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42/og48/2009-05-27GrabenstttDactylorhiza-18.jpg

Found this on a blog, a picture taken from Darwin's excellent book on the topic:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7fkKihgyA8/T7P3KRojv3I/AAAAAAAAF1U/ql1TlFI0Tcc/s400/polliniaDSC_0008.jpg

Species of the genus Ophrys manage to produce bee pheromone to trick male bees into thinking that they've landed a mate - with predictable results. This is an Andrena.

http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0031942211001750-fx1.jpg

[prakel]

orchids! One of my apiaries is home to a lovely stand of pyramid orchids -which are only just flowering, a good two months later than usual in these parts. Mind, within a couple of minutes walk of the same apiary we have wild thyme, sanfoin and sea lavender not to mention the ever present oldman's beard (which has also only just come into flower) and vipers bugloss which has been flowering for two and a half months now all coming on the tail of huge swathes of mustard (which apparently was widely grown many years ago and then all but disappeared until quarrying disturbed masses of dormant seeds) and huge stands of cotoneaster. Bee paradise!

[gavin]

Swoon! It is pretty hard to find a pyrimidal orchid in Scotland. Several of the sites marked here have been lost.

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Click the pic to see a larger one.

Distribution maps for UK organisms are available here: http://data.nbn.org.uk/
http://data.nbn.org.uk/output/gridGBv4_nbnims-2405229801386.gif

[Mellifera Crofter]

Not only lovely, as HJBee said, but also so interesting. Thanks for all that information, Gavin.
Kitta

[Bridget]

I decided to go for plants that bees like this year. Well plenty of them haven't had a bee near them, lavender, salvias etc but after a slow start they have gone mad for nasturtiums.

1212

[HJBee]

Bumble bees are mad for mine. Honey bees are stopped by the 15m deep Willow-herb 1st. Some have got through to the Mallow however, evidencing it's not just Balsam that gives them a white stripe!121312141215

[Bridget]

We've seen the pyramid orchids on Coll and I'll look out for more now I know they are thin on the ground in Scotland

[Mellifera Crofter]

Yesterday, using the shortcut from Balmoral to Strathdon over the mountain (B976) I saw some flowers among the moss and heather. Can somebody tell me what they are? I tried an online identification key, but did not find an answer.
Kitta

2064 2065

[drumgerry]

Looks like blaeberries to me. Gavin will be the man for the definitive answer

[gavin]

Right genus but wrong species (again! :)). Cowberry (http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/species/cowberry.html)aka lingonberry. Vaccinium vitis-idaea.

[drumgerry]

Damn! ;) I was going to plump for that as Kitta mentioned mountains and it's a bit late for blaeberry flowers I think. Never mind - to the back of the class with the D cap on with me! (and thanks for the continuing botanical education Gav!)

[nellyp]

One I encourage is Stachy's sylvatica (Wood woundwort) related to Betony looks a little bit like nettles( but with out the stinging) highly attractive in flower to bumbles and the small magpie moth which I have found on the under side of the foliage.

[gavin]

Damn! ;) I was going to plump for that as Kitta mentioned mountains and it's a bit late for blaeberry flowers I think. Never mind - to the back of the class with the D cap on with me! (and thanks for the continuing botanical education Gav!)

Nearly right, and in the right genus - put that cap away! Cowberry have tougher evergreen leaves, rounder and thicker. Plus butcher flowers. Blaeberry is altogether more wimpy, with delicate deciduous foliage and wee bells for flowers. But it does have a cracking fruit.

Stachys sylvatica might be good for bees but how do you stand that smell?! There are magpie moths loitering near my gooseberry bushes, not a good sign. At least your small magpie moths seem to have other tastes.

[Mellifera Crofter]

Thank you, Gavin and Drumgerry!

[drumgerry]

Well I tried Kitta! Cowberries make nice eating so I'm told. A bit of a staple in them there Scandinavian countries I believe.

[Bridget]

We had stacks round here last year growing in amongst the blaeberry. I made cowberry jelly to eat with venison and lamb. Of course in IKEA you get lingonberry jam with your meatballs and can buy lingonberry diluting juice as well.


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