Filling stations

Some of the best garden plants are the high energy nectar bars which act as filling stations for butterflies, honey bees, bumble bees and hover flies (the gardener's friends)

Hibiscus is a showy, exotic Mediterranen plant that is perfectly hardy in Britain





Tall and always impressive and now largely rust free, the Hollyhocks is an essential plant of the cottage garden and the bees love it.

Inside job!


The Globe Thistle is a great bee plant. Not a true wild flower, but I found a garden escape growing wild and collected some seed. A magnificent architectural plant 7 feet high!

 

HORNBEAM, FABULOUS pics. fancy

 

Great pics hornbeam

 

very nice pics hornbeam

 

True, hibiscus are hardy here, but make sure they are not the glossy leaved tropical hibiscus which need to be indoors for winter at least.

 

Lovely photos as usual, Hornbeam. I agree with you on that, Rich. Here is one I bought on Sunday but I think I'm going to keep it in a pot and move it around as I've not had much luck with them in the ground, believe it or not! :rolleyes:

 

lovely photos hornbeam..the colours are really clear..

 

Lovely pictures!
top one looks like "Blue Bird" which I grow and is said to be the most hardy, however I have had problems getting it to flower. It is not wedged between a pitospurnham - ur not sure I spelt that right, and willow, all cramped up, but it flowers like mad.