Welcome to my zone 9 garden. My roots are deeply planted in the sandy soil of sub-tropical central Florida, where the summers are long and hot, but the rest of the year is paradise!

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Bee Heaven

A little slice of "bee heaven"

I couldn't help but notice that the bees were lovin the  Gaillardia Indian Blanket Flower...
Not just one...but many! There's two bees in this photo...

Each photo is of a different bee...


Here's a pretty green bee...

There are lots of other flowers in the garden...but all the bees are here..

I wonder if the blanket flower's sweet nectar is to bees what chocolate is to me...irresistably good!


If so...it must be the best tasting in the garden.
By the way, I love these hardworking flowers as much as the bees do...for other reasons though! :-)

P.S. Don't you think Indian blanket flowers are photogenic? They're so easy to photograph...even for an amateur like me... and they always...always...look beautiful!

14 comments:

Aunt Bea and me recipes said...

The flowers are so beautiful. You may have inspired me to buy some of those to plant. Thanks for the great photos!!

Danielle Says Hello said...

I have been wanting to get the blanket flowers for ages...but too expensive....they finally went down to $4 at Wal-mart and I picked up a few and separated them up. I absolutely love them. Can't wait to have as many in my garden as you...along with the bees ;)

Dawn said...

I like the pic of the two bees sharing a flower!

I planted loads of seeds of Blanket Flower but not one came up.

Jean Campbell said...

I do love Gaillardia -- the native blanketflower more than the fancy hybrids but they are all beautiful.
Butterflies love them, too.

I used to find and transplant them from the lawn but have not seen one this year.

NanaK said...

I enjoyed your photos of your blanket flowers and bees. Somehow, having the bees buzzing through the garden gives it such a peaceful feel.

daisy g said...

What fabulous photos! I hope to grow some of this lovely species soon! I've planted the seeds, but haven't seen any crop up yet!
Enjoy those bees!

Rusty in Miami said...

Great pictures. Life is good when bees enjoy it our gardens

Susan said...

Betts...They are about as close to a perfect plant that I have found. I highly recommend them.

Danielle...They reseed which is great. Glad you found some for a good price.

Dawn...I hope you have lots of blanket flowers soon in your garden.

NellJean...I hope to find some native varieties for a "wild" area at the rear of our property. Hopefully, they'll go crazy reseeding back there.

NanaK...How right you are. I love hearing the low humming sound when I'm near the plants.

Daisy...Good luck with your seeds. Hopefully, a rain shower will get them growing.

Rusty...How true that is!

Unknown said...

I'm having a serious love affair with Gaillardia this year.I love seeing it covered with bees.I have it planted all thru the veggie garden.

Ami said...

Susan: Yes, blanket flowers are very photogenic! They are just so easy to grow and provide so much color to the garden! Love your pictures!

Susan said...

Hi Chris...The veggie garden is a great place to plant it...it'll draw those pollinators in. It really is a great plant. I haven't found one negative about it.

Ami...Thanks! You're right...they are really easy to grow and that's another positive for these beauties.

FNFCG Admin said...

Susan,

Your photos are beautiful! What time of day did you take them? I can almost feel the heat on the top of my head and the drone of insects in the background. Feels like my childhood.

-Carol

sherryocala said...

Hmmm, seeing your photos, Susan, has changed my mind about Blanket Flowers. Yours are so bright and pretty. Since I grow a lot of pink roses, I thought they would clash, but I have red ones, too, and yellow coreopsis which would look great with these. I think I might try them next year.

Heather said...

I love Gaillardia too and saved seeds from my old garden to bring along with me for my new garden. We won't have it in bloom for another while here yet, lovely to see yours already. Such a cheerful flower!

Popular Posts


Related Posts with Thumbnails