Aren’t We A Bit Like Bees
Aren’t we a bit like bees - attracted by flowers. But unlike bees, which are driven by instinct to search for nectar - food for the hive, we are driven by our search for beauty – food for the mind.
Orderly disorder … a riot of beautiful flowers on a display stand at the recent Hampton Court Flower Festival - #rhs #flowershows #rhsgardens
When you think about it, our search for beauty appears to be instinctive too. It seems we are predisposed to want beautiful things – to make ordinary things more beautiful. We care about how things look. This predisposition is a powerful force-of-nature and has been a factor in our evolution. And it applies to the flowers we choose to plant in our gardens, because as gardeners, we are all able to grow ‘beauty’ – what an amazing idea!
There is no getting away from the fact that ‘more-is-more’ when it comes to flower meadows (whether natural or planted). They are opportunities to be immersed in beauty,. In the above photo footpaths meander amongst the flowers. Visitors share their experience with butterflies and bees … the stresses of the world are washed away … #Gardon_Castle_Garden.
Here are a few more flowers loved by bees (and many other insects), as well as humans.
Eryngiums are amongst my favourite plants and there are many varieties that can be bought. They thrive in seaside environments. While prickly to us, this does not put bees off – in fact they seem to especially love them! They come in different sizes and colours, from shiny silver white to gorgeous dark inky blues. Grow them in clumps for best effect. They look good in winter too as the dead stems dry, so offering a long period of interest in the garden.
Sanguisorba, Scabiosa, Digitalis, Verbascum and others, are loved by bees and by people. In the photo they are crammed into a bed for sale – who wouldn’t want to take them home!
Another mesmerising display of beautiful flowers at the Hampton Court Flower Festival @Darcyeverest
Digitalis, Sanguisorba, Delphiniums, Achillea, Phlox, Verbena and many others offering us a glimpse of how our own flowerbeds could look
Echinacea’s large daisy-like flowers come in all sorts of colours and sizes adding a touch of happiness to any flowerbed or container … and they are loved by pollinating insects
Flowers last for a short time but they should return year-after-year. Select your plants and flowers for successional flowering and grow ‘beauty’ all year round … enjoy feeding the mind. This is where SeeHow can help.
Happy Gardening!
The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow (07939 226417) for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.
Wicek, now semi-retired, is an award-winning architect He is also a writer, horticulturalist and keen gardener and lives in Macduff on the dramatic north Aberdeenshire coast. He invented the unique SeeHow gardening book concept to actually show gardeners how plants and veg grow throughout the calendar-year. Because SeeHow books work visually, anyone can use them - from children to garden design professionals. Pictures really are worth 1,000 words!
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