leeks | silkannthreades

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!

A little one

in the sapphire blue

of the Ceanothus

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.