Postcards from the Summerland Ornamental Garden in May

Can you spot the crab spider in the dessert yellow fleabane (Erigeron linearis)?

 Round-leaved alumroot (Heuchera cylindrica) looks lovely en masse, especially with the pink variations mixed in. The bumblebees LOVE it!

Look at this awesome stump! Perfect for cavity nesting bees.

When looking for a bee nest, look closely at the bark, and note the size and depth of the holes.

I  noticed that the holes are really rough inside and these mason bee condos are not located close enough to the mason bee forage. Good intentions though!

 I had fun watching this bumblebee get covered in orange pollen from this ornamental allium. The colour of the pollen reminds me of Cheezie dust!

My partner in crime Jasna Guy spent a long time studying the shrubby penstemon. Can't wait to see her photos!!!!

The shrubby penstemon was  one of the busiest plants we saw that day. It's an awesome, tough plant that puts the "x" in xeriscape!

The butterfly garden is also a great place for bees with this huge chokecherry tree, redflowering currant, clove currant, antelope brush, nepeta, bugle and more.

 

 

This spot with the bugle under the nepeta was particularly attractive to this noisy silver bear of a bee. It was very possessive of this site. A black-chinned hummingbird perched on tree above these flowers.

 

I caught a nectar nicker in the bleeding hearts and swear I could actually hear the "crunch" as she bit into the top of the flower!

I've decided to do a whole other blog post on the antelope brush because it's so fascinating. What a fantastic time to visit this garden!!!! Hope to come back again and again.

Beautiful Okanagan Bees

While on holiday to the Okanagan I saw this  beautiful bee in the garden at Poplar Grove Winery. Wineries that plant pollinator and/or insectary gardens are my favorite because it breaks up the monoculture of the acres of grape vines. These gardens also provide beneficial insects that help make healthier grapes, even though they are pollinated by wind and gravity. As I guessed, there was an abundance of ground-nesting bees.

A highlight of the trip was the Summerland Xeriscape Garden where we made mental notes on which plants were functioning well with minimal water while feeding the bees. This is a cuckoo bee on Heliopsis.

Golden rod and milkweed make good companions and attract beneficial wasps.

In other gardens, spirea supported bumblebees.

There were many turquoise sweat bees, especially in this weed. The bees circled round and round the stamens collecting pollen.

Syrphid flies also visited these small white flowers.

 Gaillardia is an important drought tolerant flower and Perovskia is used in many gardens as well.

We'll need to continue to look to the Okanagan to choose hardy plants that perform well in dry summers.