Bees

April 14, 2011 For those of you who loved the images of Lucinda Hutson’s garden (and who doesn’t?), here are a few more luscious spring pics, including this bee burrowing into a Jerusalem sage blossom. A long shot of the Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) in Lucinda’s front garden. Its tiered, ...

September 25, 2010 Most of my earlier posts about Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, have shown long views, like the cleome border above. But I do have more-intimate images to share as well. A yellow jacket or some other type of wasp gathering nectar Swamp sunflower, I believe Simple ...

September 21, 2010 Architecture in the garden makes me happy, especially when I’m taking pictures. It can be used to frame a view, like this series of doorways. Walls are nice too, and they don’t have to be made of stone. The courtyard garden at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, ...

September 07, 2010 Sea holly, or eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii) I tried watching an instructional DVD about using my new camera on Sunday but fell asleep halfway through. When I awoke I decided a real-life test drive should be the first step, at least to try out the semi-automatic settings. So ...

August 24, 2010 Just in from a morning stroll through my garden, and what delights I witnessed. A tiny, blurry-winged hummingbird making the rounds from Mexican oregano to flame-leaf acanthus to Turk’s cap to Agastache. Honeybees spelunking for pollen. A leggy, spotted fawn tucked into a stand of bamboo muhly ...

June 24, 2010 A pond makes a wonderful garden feature at any time of year, but in summer it’s where the action really is, from plants to fish, birds, insects, and other wildlife. A sunny location allows you to grow water lilies, jewels of the summer garden. The yellow flowers ...

June 24, 2010 A pond makes a wonderful garden feature at any time of year, but in summer it’s where the action really is, from plants to fish, birds, insects, and other wildlife. A sunny location allows you to grow water lilies, jewels of the summer garden. The yellow flowers ...

May 12, 2010 The final garden I visited last Saturday on Gardens on Tour 2010 is a large rural property tucked at the end of a long, gravel drive off Highway 45 South, not too far from the Wildflower Center. Wildflower meadows surround the home and nearby guest house/retreat center ...

April 28, 2010 While my dad was in town last week, I invited us over to Jenny Stocker’s garden for a visit, knowing that it would be spectacular at this time of year. Jenny, who blogs at Rock Rose, kindly overlooked the pushiness of my request by not only welcoming ...

April 28, 2010 While my dad was in town last week, I invited us over to Jenny Stocker’s garden for a visit, knowing that it would be spectacular at this time of year. Jenny, who blogs at Rock Rose, kindly overlooked the pushiness of my request by not only welcoming ...

April 25, 2010 Stay on target. Stay…on…target! I’m focused on writing tomorrow’s noontime post about focal points for Garden Designers Roundtable. I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow for that and follow the links to read what 10 other garden designers around the U.S. and the U.K. have to say about ...

April 25, 2010 Stay on target. Stay…on…target! I’m focused on writing tomorrow’s noontime post about focal points for Garden Designers Roundtable. I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow for that and follow the links to read what 10 other garden designers around the U.S. and the U.K. have to say about ...

April 19, 2010 Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) and Hinckley’s columbine One of the joys of a garden is observing its seasonal changes. Although evergreens are a necessary and beautiful way to ensure year-round structure, texture, and interest, the comings and goings of certain flowers, berries, leaves, and seedheads drum ...

March 22, 2010 Over spring break we drove 3,200 miles (5,149 km) round-trip to Florida, with stops in Orlando, Miami, Everglades National Park, the Keys (all the way to Key West), and finally Naples to see the brand-new botanical garden there. Planted last August and opened to the public in ...

November 08, 2009 A monarch and honeybee share space on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundiflora) Twelve Austin garden bloggers caravaned to San Antonio on Saturday to visit San Antonio Botanical Garden and the Antique Rose Emporium, with a stop along the way at Madrone Nursery in San Marcos, a native-plant ...

November 03, 2009 Every day the honeybees go spelunking—or is it “sbeelunking”?—in the pink cuphea. Spelunking, or caving, is popular in Austin, where limestone caves pocket the area. So I’m not surprised that our bees enjoy this exploratory pastime too. But don’t they understand that long, tubular flowers like this ...