The leaf shape change of Ivy (Hedera helix) is associated with flowerings stems.
Yes. I have some very low ivy, maybe two feet, that has grown over a dry stone wall and that has the smoother leaves and flower buds
The real big volume forage here,nectar/honey wise is first willow,folowed by orchards cherry,plumbs,apples,then acasia and as last Linden.But to give them a broader choise in pollen we sow in 2 acres of native wildflowers ourself,joined by a half an acre bee and butterfly garden with way over 450 different trees,bushes,fruits and perenials.And it's always tempting to get more of their favorites in,but the past has learned that one years favorite can get totaly ignored next year,so its a bad idea,diversity is the key;Every inch is used,even the road sides,what didn't cause protest but as a result 8 of my neighbours joined in and this year another 5,i call it the inktspot effect.Just to get an idea,there's 300 dahliaplants,good 200 verbena bonariensis,100 heleniums,good 100 helleborus,50 cardoons,30 courgettes,good 1000 alliums of all sort,several plants of 32 different campanulla spiecies.Just ordered another 6000 crocusses bulbs and 3000 iris reticulata.On a regular basis i give away free seeds,shoots and runners,that all end up somewhere nearby in a garden at forage distance.All good fun,and a happy spouse.If you want a tiny look on some of the flowers you can scroll through this "De Kriebelbende" - Een Keiberg's bijen,vlinder en insektentuintje (Zichem) ,for some strange reason not all pics show up in the "media" so if you want to see some more y'll need to go to the discussion page.
Thanks for sharing
no clue how big your garden is,but this time of the year you should be able to find dripping tubes in promotion,i just got a package of 100 meters with a good collection of fastening pins,stops,T-splitters,connectors and such for 92 euro,had it all installed within 3 hours,since it's in use i see everything recover and fast;It uses 3 liter of water per meter per half hour,the time daily they advice;So if the drought stays on it still maibe get costly on the water counter but far less than with spraying,but i don't loose any plants anymore,the plants getting visited again by the bees,you never burn plants by spraying,if wanted they've computericed open shut valves available as well.
Considering a lot of the country has a hosepipe ban watering the garden ( one acre) is extremely profligate. Our water is metered anyway.
Now you make me jealous,i've heaps of hedera,here they blossem much later,at least another 5 to 6 weeks,but,i'm already on the look out for this hedera bee for like ages and allthough i get a lot of rare bee species visiting my place ,this one never shows up,maibe my hedera is a too late blossoming species,bummer.
