What's flowering as forage in your area

[JamezF]

Ivy flowers out now in Bath

Hopefully you're a bit ahead of us, but I shall have a wander around and check tomorrow if I remember. Pleased not to have that in the supers I've just taken off the hives.

James

 

[alancooper]

Le

Ivy leaves change when it becomes arboreal, they lose the pointed lobes and become more like those in the photo, it also takes ten years to flower.
I was looking at Ivy that was roughly the same stage, yesterday, I give it two or three weeks before the earlier varieties are out. There's not a single bud on my Persian Ivy yet.

The leaf shape change of Ivy (Hedera helix) is associated with flowerings stems.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Le

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

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Once again the bees are gorging on Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) near here. The tiny flowers are out alongside the berries. Fruiting and flowering doesn't get a mention in descriptions of this plant. But I wouldn't have thought it was that commonplace.
Sorry about the awful photo.

 

[Belgianbeekeeper]

Hi, I just thought I'd start up a thread on what's flowering as forage in your area. ( Locally)
Here in South Shropshire ( clee hill ) there's hazel, gorse, mahonia. There might be more but this is what's around my apairys.
All pollen sources.
Thanks mark.

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.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

This all sounds, and on your FB, looks, really wonderful. Thanks for all the detail too. Shows exactly how it's all done!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Everything is drying up....so little rain
Even my Eucryphia is dropping its flower buds

 

[Curly green finger's]

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

 

[Belgianbeekeeper]

Everything is drying up....so little rain
Even my Eucryphia is dropping its flower buds

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.

 

[Erichalfbee]

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.
Our garden has to survive unwatered. It will recover.

 

[RJC]

Ivy is open here (Rutland), with both ivy and honey bees. The ivy bee (Colletes hederae), a bit smaller than a honey bee, is a recent (2001) colonist, moving north.

 

[Belgianbeekeeper]

Ivy is open here (Rutland), with both ivy and honey bees. The ivy bee (Colletes hederae), a bit smaller than a honey bee, is a recent (2001) colonist, moving north. View attachment 33669View attachment 33668

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.

 

[Ian123]

Spotted the first ivy out around me today.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

ivy flowering here today - nearly a month earlier than usual

 

[The Stung]

Spotted the first Ivy buds opening near me in Nottinghamshire today. Judging from the buds it looks like the main Ivy flowering period will start next week.

The bees are mainly interested in fuscia at the moment, and there seem to be enough bushes in the local town to make it worth their while. There's also Jerusalem artichoke and Michaelmas daisy in smaller quantities.

Has anyone else noticed unusual flowering patterns after the drought ended? I've seen masses of dandelion flowers, blackberry, raspberry, and even apple blossom in my garden. It's like a second spring, not that the bees seem particularly interested.

 

[JamezF]

Has anyone else noticed unusual flowering patterns after the drought ended? I've seen masses of dandelion flowers, blackberry, raspberry, and even apple blossom in my garden. It's like a second spring, not that the bees seem particularly interested.

Yes, there are definitely a few things flowering completely out of season. My climbing beans have suddenly burst into flower. It's a bit late for them now

James

 

[smok]

ivy flowering by Northampton
packt with bees

 

[Nannysbees]

Still have plenty of colour in the garden. Cosmos and sedum, some of the cornflower still going, anemones very popular,gazinias rudbeckia still with plenty of buds

 

[Murox]

Picking blackberries yesterday, I noticed a fair few were flowering their heads off again.

 

[Newbeeneil]

White bees still piling in to many of my hives. Never known HB to flower for so long!