I am bee-ing uncharacteristically envious. My blogging friend Ruth, who reflects on life in central Christchurch, is now a host parent to 20,000 bees. She is part of a “buzzy movement” to bring bees into the city’s green spaces and gardens, as well as onto the city ‘s roof spaces. I am envious because I would love to host a hive but, sadly, most of my neighbours wouldn’t love me if I were to become a host family. ( I can hear the complaints about bee droppings on their washing before I even finish this thought in my head 😦 )
Sigh! But, even though a hive would be a difficulty, I do have a flourishing bee population in my garden, anyway. This is mainly because, this year, I have left the plantings, in my raised garden beds, to run to wilderness.
The Wilderness
I was about to replant the beds with orderly rows of vegetables when I realised that, by doing so, I would be removing a vital food supply, and haven, for the bees and little birds. I reasoned that it was easier for me to find an alternative supply of vegetables than it was for the small ones to find sustenance elsewhere. So the wilderness of overgrown parsley,
Parsley Paradise
leeks, sage and self-sown borage
Self-sown Borage
and cerinthe remained.
Cerinthe, sweet as honey..
My reward….no honey… but the bee chorus is so humming that I can hear it from at least a metre’s distance. The wild growth in the planter boxes is supplemented, in the background, by the prolific flowering of my ceanothus blue sapphire . They are a-shimmer with bee activity, although you would hardly think so, since I have only managed to capture one of their number!
Ruth’s bees may travel up to five kilometres to gather food. I wonder if I am close enough for any of them to visit me. Wouldn’t that be lovely if they did? Meanwhile Jack and I enjoy the bees that are already here.
Jack bee-listening
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silkannthreades 
That borage is beautiful!
Sadly, since you have a wordpress.com blog, I won’t be able to leave you a billion LIKEs as I usually do since LIKEs on wordpress.com blogs are not working for me………. 😦
Well, thank you for commenting. That is equal to many likes 🙂
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I have been thinking a great deal about our ability to integrate within our surroundings. Humanity seems to be in a perpetual and frantic race to tame nature. And yet, it seems that nature has a way of taming humanity. I do love your posts…
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee
Nature always seems to be taming us but we are rather wilful and need a lot of taming-training 😦 That is a scary, scary quote! Thank you for loving my posts; it is so encouraging to have your support.
We are on an amazing adventure – together!!!
🙂
So nice to see your blue bee haven. I’m reminded to plant borage again.
Thank you! But please remember that Borage, once planted, self sows like mad 😀 😀
Nice to see your whole garden – it is so neat and tidy, even the ‘wilderness’ is a neat wilderness! There has also been a lot of publicity in the UK this year about the honey bees too – their numbers are dwindling due to their habitat disappearing and the use of insecticides – but I am not sure I know anyone who is actually hosting their own bee hive.
Yes, you are right! It is a contained and somewhat tidy wilderness! From the little I have read on the subject, it is actually quite amazing how much food bees can gather in an urban environment. Perhaps insecticides are more of a threat than loss of traditional habit. Are bees in good shape in South Africa? I remember the ferocity of the bees in Lusaka but also the delicious honey we ate there.
I believe our bees are in good shape – Johannesburg is actually one of the greenest cities in the world, although I am not sure now long that will last. What I am worried about in my immediate vicinity are some rather large holes I have found bored into the woodwork on my back porch – maybe some kind of wasp or beetle?? The holes are large enough to stick my finger in, not that I will do that!! I keep finding wood shavings outside the hole, so whatever is in there is really making itself at home, and I am not sure it should be!!
Oh yikes! I wonder what is making the holes! Interesting to learn that Johannesburg is one of the greenest cities in the world. Impressive.
Bees are important for all life, so we must take care of them more. Nice to hear about this, Gallivanta.
Thank you. It is a pleasure to be able to provide for these little creatures.
Your pictures make me oh so cheery as it was a rainy, blustery day here in Western Pennsylvania!
That’s grand to hear. And your bookmark is on the way; posted today!
I am so excited!
I was disappointed that there weren’t any special Christmas stamps to put on the envelope, though. None till next week 😦
I love your garden! And it’s great that you have the “parsley paradise”. Jack looks like an attentive bee-listener 🙂
Yes, if you ever need some parsley, just shout out! Funny Jack, I really think he must like the bees because he was outside again this morning, lying on the grass, facing the planter boxes. I wonder how his ears hear the bees; very loudly?
Probably quite loud! Maybe its like music for him..
I think so!
Beautiful garden and post!
Thank you Ellen; glad to offer a little glimpse of spring as you head in to winter.
I always love when you post photos of your garden! I love bees too and know just what you mean by that wonderful humming. I’ve never been tempted to have my own hive but we’re friends with the local apiarist so visit his hives whenever we buy honey and it’s been so fascinating to learn more about the bees. Enjoy your lovely garden!
Thank you 🙂 How lucky you are to have a source of honey close by. Does that mean you occasionally enjoy honeycomb honey?
Never off the honeycomb, if that’s what you mean. But the honey itself is delicious.
The funny thing is that I’m a French expat living in the U.S. and by coincidence these honey farmers are also French. They moved to the U.S. 10 years ago and the husband set up hives. For some reason that made me laugh – to bump into a fellow Frenchperson in the form of my honey man!
That is a wonderful coincidence and perhaps another opportunity to speak French. When I say honeycomb honey I mean like this http://www.savannahbee.com/product/Raw-Honeycomb-Square-11oz/103 I used to love it but haven’t had any for years. My favourite honey at the moment is our manuka honey. I am addicted to it really.
how interesting – I will have to see if he has honeycomb honey for me to try!
Do ask! I suppose now is not the right time though as the bees will be tucked away for the winter.
Galivanta – Your garden is lovely – The Lord is truly an artist – even with the wild things.
The best part – This arrived in my inbox and I didn’t have to look for it. Thank you for offering the option to follow you by email.
I am so pleased the email notification is working for you. Wonderful, because it is lovely to be able to share my garden delights.
Wow!!!, Your garden is very amazing. So green and grow Wild. Do you sell the Parsley to your neighbor?
I think that I should! Start selling 😀
That sounds great! Oh look, there will be a door to door vegetable seller in our residence soon. 😀 😀
😀 😀
Your garden looks very welcome to the bees. I like your corner with the hanging baskets. Do you have a bench there too?
The corner with the hanging baskets doesn’t have a bench. I have often thought about putting one there but ‘thoughts’ are as far as I have got. Perhaps I am waiting for the bench that is ‘just right’ 😉
How the situation is occurring regarding the rapidly declining bee population all over the globe seems to be a major ecological disaster in the making. We clearly need more ‘Ruths’ in the world today.
Shakti
I couldn’t agree more. And even in big cities like London and New York it is possible for people to host beehives on their roof tops. We can do more to help the bees.
I love that some of the prettiest flowers comes from plants that have been allowed to go wild. That’s the latest buz from my corner of the world….bzzzz.bzzzz.
I hear your bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.. It is a welcome sound.
I love your garden! I bet the bees love visiting! Butterflies too?
I hope they do enjoy their visits. Butterflies…..sadly, I see very few. However, the few I have seen already are monarch butterflies which means they have survived their winter hibernation.
Love your gardens running wild and so green! The scenery is a huge contrast to the fall we now have here in the Nordic dimension. 🙂
Very wild! For me, that is. Usually I have everything very tidy. This is the loveliest time of year for the garden. Later, when it is summer everything starts to dry up and lose its vividness. You said your colours at the moment are purple. I find that there is a hint of purple in my spring garden ; I will watch and see if it intensifies towards autumn.
I think that would be cool to have a bee hive (the one that you raise) in your back yard. My concern is they may sting you or other people around. I am always fascinated by a demonstrated bee hive in a museum (one side is a glass panel so you can see bees in working).
I think I am bee-ing envious of your back yard 🙂
I suppose a sting is always a possibility but the bees in my garden always seem very content to mind their own business. Aww; how nice of you to bee envious of my backyard 😀 I am happy to share it with you any day! The bees won’t mind either.
Ah, what a beautiful garden ! Full of my favorite herbs ❤️❤️❤️
An a heaven for bees!
I wish I was a bee, flying there too!!! 😁😁😁
I wish you were here to sketch it for me 🙂
in my pastoral fantasies i have a bee hive but in real life i just have lavendar so the bees can enjoy them otherwise my husband says i would end up on the news as the woman who got eaten alive by her bees in London…
Oh never! Bees wouldn’t eat their lavender provider! Have you seen this http://www.fortnumandmason.com/c-365-fortnums-bees-fortnum-and-mason.aspx ? If Fortnum’s can have hives, you can too 🙂
Yes but they have a thing called staff!! ;P I am not good staff. Even to myself…
🙂 Staff! Yes, wouldn’t that be a help, although if staff means all the complications of Downton Abbey then maybe not. Most of us have enough drama in our lives…..
I have often wondered if bees all over the world go for the same plants. Cerinthe and borage are a favourite in my garden and in yours too! The Anthophora love Cerinthe and they are some of the cutest bees. They are a similar shape to bumble bees but not as stripy. some have green eyes which I find very cute but they do fly very quickly much faster than bumbles. I agree, the garden would not be the same without the buzz of the bees.
The buzz is really heavenly. I tried to record it but it was difficult to capture on my primitive equipment. I need to study the bees more closely to try and understand what types I have. At the moment they are all just a blur to my eyes. The bees seemed completely unbothered by my presence amongst them.
That’s exactly what I like; to be in the garden as they go about their life. They are unbothered as I watch them and I enjoy sharing the pleasure of the flowers in the garden with them.
I am wondering if it is still warm enough for you and the bees to be enjoying the garden. Were you affected by the recent wild weather?
Actually I am in Surrey exchanging damp, wet weather for warm sunny life on the Charente :(. But I have been helping my daughter after a small op and enjoying so much being with my newest granddaughter. She is very cuddly, so I am very happy with the exchange.
That does sound wonderful, apart from the weather!
What a wonderful world for a bee! I wished to be one in your garden! … and that parsley, I can taste it already, a good source of iron and vitamin C, I have never seen such a huge one though! Love your garden! ♥
I hope the bees are happy :). Yes parsley is very good for us. Maybe I could make parsley soup? My garden is waiting for your visit!
Oh I so would love to come into your garden and enjoy a hot drink there with you, let the beauty sink in and let go and indulge into the peace and calm there!
Parsely soup is a good idea!
And Jack would love to sit there with you 🙂 whilst I am busy making the tea and cake.
Uhhh yes your cakes…… hmmmmm
😀 : D
Good to hear there are so many bees buzzing about your garden especially given all I read about the bee population dying out. 😉
I don’t know what kind of bees I have in the garden but they are certainly very alive and busy!
Bee droppings? Never thought about that befote;)
Me neither. Apparently it is also called frass. For an interesting account of bee droppings, try this http://www.honeybeesuite.com/sticky-yellow-bee-droppings-are-a-good-thing/ I had no idea!!!!
Well I never!
I am speechless too!
🙂
Oh bees, parsley, ceonothus and gorgeous gardens and the well behaved Jack!
I miss the bees but there is just too much pesticide used all round the perimeters of my garden – neighbours and the Council.
Speaking of unwanted dollops on washing – the Tui traffic has seen something of an increase in guano about the place with one strategic deposit over several items of washing on the line…tee hee.
My Mum used to dry parsley with her dehydrator. Freezing the chopped up leaves might be simpler.
I enjoyed your blues and greens here on yet another grey, stormy, wet day.
Ah, yes, wild flying life and washing are not a good mix! But, at least, we don’t have to put up with fruit bats vs washing as my sister does in Cairns!
Glad to have brought some colour to your grey, stormy day. I could hardly believe your weather forecast……
Yes, freezing would probably work well. I have tried using the microwave as a dehydrator; not with great success though.
Ghastly weather but oh so much supping at the feeder. Fast food in inclement weather.
Are you the one who has to brave the elements to replenish the feeder?
I choose to do that:-) They have supped long and frequently today. I imagine this weather is affecting other food supplies for them. I keep hoping the bottle brushes will burst forth but some sunshine is probably needed. They don’t lack for water now!
The roots will be water-logged. Bring on some sunshine for the weekend 🙂
Oh it’s gorgeous and you have what I call a Darwinian garden, the fittest plants take over!! My favorite type of garden. Poochini is pretty darn cute too! Great shots~
A Darwinian Garden; that’s the one 🙂 ! Does this mean that parsley will rule the world one day? Better go and speak to it and make sure we are still on best terms. I need you here to photograph the birds in the borage.
What a beautiful yard you have…any bee would buzz in happily, I’m sure! My husband’s grandmother had a little path through the trees that led to her apiary in days gone by – long gone, but a fun thought to know that she had her own bees and honey on this property once.
An apiary!!! And a little, cool storeroom for the honey, too? Do you no longer keep bees?
No – unfortunately not. There sure would be a lot of material for them to work with and brew their honey in this yard – it’s too bad that the apiary got taken out years ago.
Too bad, indeed. But how is the pollination of the crops carried out? Are there commercial bee hives in strategic places on the farm?
There are a few crops for which the farmers set up bees, but most either are self-pollinating or the bees work for free. Nice of them, don’t you think?
Very nice!
Goodness, what are you going to do with all that parsley? Looks a lovely spot for the bees, and the purply blue colour scheme is so pretty. I have borage growing wild outside my house in Portugal, which I will harvest one day and do something healthful with it! Cath
Yes, I am rather overwhelmed by parsley! It is not in short supply! Perhaps I should sell bunches at the gate 😀 The borage flowers I eat regularly because they taste of cucumber. I am still trying to decide how I want to eat the leaves. I did stir fry them the other day but mixed them with spinach so don’t really know how they taste.
You could make a simple parsley pesto and freeze it? Oh so you can just eat the borage as it is? That’s good to know. I can see me adding the flowers to a tuna sandwich!
The flowers would be lovely in a tuna sandwich. The leaves I think have to be eaten with caution, as in it is not wise to eat too many. Parsley pesto or chimichurri….
I will definitely do my research before eating the leaves!
Advisable!