Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- July 2014!!

Hello, hello, hello!  We just got back last night from an eight day, multi-state. twenty hour or so car trip to see our families.  I fully intended to blog along the way but my internet access came and went (mostly went) and our stops at each place were relatively short so I took photos with the hope that I’ll share a few of them here in the next few weeks. Anyway, it’s GBBD which is a great way to jump back in to the blogosphere and say hi! Here’s what we came home to last night:
IMG_6615Echinacea

IMG_6618Ditch lily

IMG_6619Lavender, with bees

IMG_6620Black-eyed susan/rudbeckia, just beginning to bloom

IMG_6623Bee balm
IMG_6627I’m not sure about this, it’s almost invasive in a beautiful way

IMG_6630Yarrow

IMG_6631A big dill flower, I couldn’t resist…

IMG_6633Pansies and verbena in the chicken coop window box

IMG_6634The beginning of the liatris

IMG_6635Balloon flower rose campion rose campionobedient plantObedient plant… does a wonderful job of luring cucumber beetles away from the cucs..

Maybe another obedient plant? Maybe another variety of obedient plant? Talk to me….

Bellflowerand the bellflower…

I seem to have lots of tall blooms that would be pretty in a vase…

Be sure to check out May Dreams Gardens for all of the other GBBD posts!!

I hope your all well and I can’t wait to catch up on all of my favorite blogs!

Love,

Michele

 

 

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My Lavender Is Loaded…

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With bumble bees of course, and they are amazing! I’ve been kind of obsessed with these creatures this week. On Monday we discovered that our lavender plant at work was buzzing with them so the people that I work with and I have been enjoying them a lot. We’ve been watching them hard at work and talking about different types of insects and how important they are to our garden.  We even took photos with our ipad and published our own blog post about them. When I got home I found myself doing the same thing here so I spent half an hour yesterday trying to get the perfect macro bee shot. Photographing bees is a lot like taking pictures of chickens, their always in motion so it’s tough to get it right.  I think I’ll try using a tripod today and fiddle with the camera settings a bit more.  

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Unfortunately it’s becoming increasingly clear that bees are dying by the millions because of pesticide use.  This article from the Boston Globe Magazine a few Sundays ago details one study and speaks to how difficult it is for the research to be taken seriously.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/06/22/the-harvard-scientist-linking-pesticides-honeybee-colony-collapse-disorder/nXvIA5I6IcxFRxEOc8tpFI/story.html

Check out the links to other articles just below too, then slow down and take a few minutes to watch the bees at work today.

Enjoy everything!

Michele