The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:They call it easing the SpringNaming of Parts (1942), Henry Reed After a night of heavy rain and blustery winds, the morning was calm with clear cold skies and veils of mist clinging to the distant hills. There is a whisphered promise of a fine gardening day.
We departed with snow on the ground and returned to a tropical paradise. Time to hunt for the sun hats, t-shirts and factor 50+. However, the weather was not the only surprise. The rabbits had being doing what rabbits do and there were micro-bunnies nestled in the grass in the orchard. Fortunately they were too
We have five species of bumblebees (Bombus) and two species of solitary mining bees (Colletes) in the Outer Hebrides, some of which are rarely found on the mainland; including the lovely Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) which I rely on to pollinate my broad beans. In the absence of honey bees, our bumbles, aided and
With less than a month to go to the winter solstice, the days are very short and the list of wintering gardening chores grows ever longer. October and November have been predictably wet and windy, but we have had some glorious sunny days perfect for some of the heavier winter jobs in the vegetable garden.