Spring flowers are feasts for bees

In years past, mid-April has been when the crocus peak, but the crocuses are already done. This year, most of the flowers are at least two weeks early. In fact, so much has been flowering in the last week, I’m having trouble keeping up. The bees are having a great spring. So while they are […]

Meanwhile, on the ground

What I consider my ground covers are doing their thing. Since I want the violets where they are, they’re not weeds, they’re wildflowers. The ajuga come from a six pack that I planted years ago, and after much coddling are finally looking good. The strawberries are only a couple years old, and happily spreading. This […]

Unweeds: Violets

Not all uninvited plants are weeds in my yard; some are welcome guests. The violets that pop up on every patch of cool bare earth make a lovely groundcover. They flower well into summer. They only grow a few inches tall. (No way do I ever mow.) And if I want to claim the space […]

Syrphid fly?

Here’s some more flowers the bees are visiting. Not to mention another example of why the violets get free rein in my yard: they look nice next to the azaleas. Yesterday I thought I saw a bumblebee, but its buzz had that whiny fly quality. Probably a syrphid fly; they look a lot like bees […]

War on Weeds

Some weeds native plants I can tolerate. Like these violets. They can be a nice groundcover in the shady spots. But…