Bee Friendly

I have been seeing a variety of bees in the garden lately, including honey bees, carpenter bees and others. Carpenter bees are especially attracted to several fall-flowering plants next to our patio. Every day I see them buzzing around the Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha), Red Dragon Persicaria, and Caryopteris 'Jason'.Mexican Sage
Mexican sage attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. It blooms summer through fall and is hardy to about 15 degrees F.

Here is a view of the front garden, looking over the Mexican sage by the patio. The Japanese maple behind the arch is the one attacked by Ambrosia Beetles. I have treated it and removed much of the affected areas. I will wait till spring to see if it survives. Despite the extensive surgery, it is still a beautiful tree. A close-up of Mexican Sage; it feels like velvet!

Here is another view of Mexican Sage.

The Mexican Sage coordinates well with this birdhouse. The orange flowers are Firebush, another great plant that attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies.

The pollinators also love Red Dragon Persicaria.

Fall-blooming Caryopteris is also called Blue Mist Shrub or Bluebeard. Be aware there is a spirea called Blue Mist Shrub, which is a different plant!

Carpenter bees look much like bumblebees in size and appearance, but the top of their abdomens are hairless and shiny black, while bumblebees are fully clothed with hairs, many of them yellow.

Carpenter bees are important pollinators and they don't sting you, but they are noted for drilling holes into wooden structures, which they use for nesting and overwintering. They also use trees or telephone poles.

Although we have a healthy carpenter bee population around our home, I have never seen any evidence of damage from them. (We do have problems with woodpeckers, who mistake the stucco on the front of our house for dead trees!) Carpenter bees prefer unpainted or old, weathered wood, so the best way to prevent damage to your home is to paint or varnish any wooden structures. Simply staining the wood does not usually work. There also are both chemical and organic products available to get rid of carpenter bees.

Before you decide to kill them, remember that, unlike honey bees, carpenter bees are native to America and they pollinate many types of blooms. A lot of bee species are on the decline due to disease and insecticide use. Without our pollinators, we won't have beautiful gardens or food!

The Game Called Gardening

Today was blessed with blue skies, pleasant temperatures, and low humidity.

Around the garden, foliage is lush and late summer flowers are blooming, though some plants are already preparing for dormancy. Dogwood berries are turning red. Hydrangea blooms are beginning to dry.Top: 'Cherokee Chief' dogwood. 2nd row: Variegated artemesia ' Oriental Limelight' is blooming; Hydrangea 'Limelight'. Third Row: Hydrangea 'Endless Summer'; Glossy Abelia . Bottom: Bees love Caryopteris, also called Blue Mist Shrub.Nevertheless, the woodlands are still green and are luminous when golden lights shine through them. Late afternoon is a magical time to be in the garden.

It was a great day to spend on the patio, resting my sore muscles upon the chaise lounge while watching hummingbirds and butterflies.

My muscles are sore because two days ago I transplanted four hostas, four heucheras, three holly bushes, and one very large snowball viburnum. Oh, and also one hydrangea. Then I planted nine new shrubs — including azaleas, gardenias, and upright boxwoods — watered everything well and then put a fresh layer of pine straw around all of it. I haven't quite recovered. But September starts our best planting/transplanting season, and already I have a new list of to-do items, scheduled for my next couple of off days. 

The fact is I am never satisfied and am always striving to make my garden meet the visions in my head. The weather, the plants, the critters, and the budget don't always cooperate, but that is the challenge that makes the game fun.

Speaking of critters, I have a new opponent, who sneaks around at night, digging in my garden beds, often uprooting small plants. I suspected but wasn't sure who the culprit was, until he left his muddy paw prints across my patio, coming straight from new holes dug next to recently planted verbena:

Lou, who knows his animal prints, informs me it is a raccoon. 

Another, more welcome critter, is a dragonfly. We don't have a pond, so I was thrilled to see a newly emerged dragonfly, resting on a log while he was still drying.

We have a had a lot of rain the last couple of months, so maybe there is water in the creek bed at the bottom of the valley behind our house. Usually it is dry, but sometimes it does get some water in it. I think that is where the dragonflies are coming from.

Plentiful rain has also brought lots of mushrooms, including a dark, warty one I have never seen before:

If I hurry, I may get back outside to enjoy some more of this beautiful day and to plan my next move in this game called gardening. I hope you are having some nice weather, too!