Bees

September 06, 2009 The bees drinking at my stock-tank pond are no longer cute. They are too many, at least 50 at all times until after dark. They buzz around threateningly if you get too close. They are now fighting with each other over the water source. Yes, fighting. I’ve ...

August 23, 2009 Cousin Itt has a new home. I brought this potted Texas nolina (Nolina texana) from my old garden right before we leased the Unsold House, and it has been sitting on a wheeled cart in the back yard for a couple of weeks as I pondered where ...

August 23, 2009 Cousin Itt has a new home. I brought this potted Texas nolina (Nolina texana) from my old garden right before we leased the Unsold House, and it has been sitting on a wheeled cart in the back yard for a couple of weeks as I pondered where ...

August 20, 2009 Pollinating and making honey must be thirsty work. Every day the bees belly up to the cattle-trough container pond to quench their thirst. This one found a convenient pollen source in the pond. The goldfish must be wondering why the bees are staring in their windows. All ...

July 08, 2009 The unfinished stock-tank pond was making me feel lazy. So this morning I got out a measuring tape, level, shovel, gloves, bug spray, and sun hat, and got to work. My vacationing husband helped me measure and dig the trench for the retaining wall, and then he ...

October 29, 2008 This metallic green bee was struggling in the pool this afternoon. I rescued it with a liriope leaf and set it on the cedar bench to dry. After a few moments in the sun, she used her antennae like windshield wipers to clean her face. Then off ...

September 24, 2008 Like this bee on blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum ), I’ve been buzzing around the garden, dividing a few plants and taking down garden decor, all while keeping the garden looking good for prospective buyers. (Hello? Are you out there? The stock market may be scary, but it’s ...

July 20, 2008 If you haven’t been to Chanticleer, you must go. Hop on a plane or jump in the car and go. Now. Dubbed “a pleasure garden” in its brochure, it lives up to the billing. From the moment we arrived, just after lunchtime on a quiet Sunday in ...

June 10, 2008 My next-door neighbor fired up her gas grill yesterday and in the process disturbed a swarm of bees. Suddenly bees were buzzing all through our back yard and hers and clustering on her house. She didn’t get stung, thankfully, and called to let us know so that ...

April 16, 2008 The 2008 Mouse & Trowel Award finalists were announced yesterday, and I’m thrilled that you nominated Digging in two categories: Best Photography in a Garden Blog and Best Garden Blog Design. Many thanks indeed! I really appreciate the recognition, and I’d love to have your vote in ...

April 16, 2008 The 2008 Mouse & Trowel Award finalists were announced yesterday, and I’m thrilled that you nominated Digging in two categories: Best Photography in a Garden Blog and Best Garden Blog Design. Many thanks indeed! I really appreciate the recognition, and I’d love to have your vote in ...

November 20, 2007 Great purple hairstreak. (Thanks for the ID, Lee.) A kaleidoscope of butterflies—and bees—have been fluttering around the shrubby white boneset (Eupatorium havanense ) for days. Also known as white mistflower, though much woodier and shrub-like than blue mistflower, it’s my latest blooming perennial, often starting around Halloween ...

October 16, 2007 After unseasonable heat for the Chicago Marathon weekend, our last day in Chicago, October 9th, dawned clear and cooler, with highs in the 70s. Ahhh, much better! Taking advantage of the beautiful day, we took a 45-minute train ride north of town to the Chicago Botanic Garden ...

September 29, 2007 What honeybee shortage? The bees were a-buzzin’ on the ‘Carefree Beauty’ roses this morning. After a hot and muggy week, a cool front moved through early this morning, lowering the temperature by only a few degrees but blissfully drying out the air. The fresh breeze enticed me ...

February 28, 2007 Spider feeding on moth When I walked through the garden this morning, I could smell the faint, spicy scent of the Mexican plum blossoms. Sparrows and wrens sang in the trees, and one sparrow anxiously kept an eye on me as I neared the birdhouse in which ...

November 04, 2006 Ageratina havanensis In the afternoon, my front garden is redolent with white mistflower, also known as white shrubby boneset, a Halloween-sounding name if I ever heard one. Its fragrance is not sweet but spicy and earthy. During the day, bees frolic in its sprays of white flowers ...