• A Little Bit About Me

wellywoman

~ A Life in Wellies

wellywoman

Tag Archives: Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’

Beautiful Bee Plants

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by wellywoman in Countryside, Cut Flowers, Environment, Flowers, In the Garden, On the plot

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

beekeeping course, Farrow and Ball, honey bees, Humble by Nature, Sedum 'Purple Emperor', Sedum spectabile, Sussex University

Helenium - bee-friendly plant

I’ve been feeling a bit glum the last few days with one thing and another and the weather is miserable, AGAIN. It was like November on the plot yesterday, the wind whipping the fleece cover off my brassicas and the sunflowers and dahlias needed some remedial staking to prevent stems from snapping. After a night of torrential rain, in fact, at one point it didn’t sound like rain, more like someone had turned on an enormous tap, I’m now greeted with a sky the colour of battleship grey. I thought Farrow and Ball, the paint company famous for the names it gives to its paints, such as ‘cat’s paw’,  ‘smoked trout’ and ‘elephant’s breath’ might have a more romantic and enticing way of describing the colour I can see out of my study window. They can’t come up with anything better than ‘down pipe’. Says it all really.

Sedum 'Purple Emperor'

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’

So, what could I write about that was bright and cheery to bring me out of this descending gloom. After last week’s beekeeping course at Humble By Nature I’m looking out for bees wherever I go. There was a brief dry spell yesterday afternoon and whilst having a bit of a potter I noticed my Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ plants were covered in bees. Off I went to get the camera and an absorbing half an hour passed as I snapped away. Sometimes it’s great to look at the bigger picture, to be in a vast open landscape which always makes me feel incredibly free and invigorated but, equally, I love getting down to a really small level, getting up close to insects and plants and seeing the incredible detail there is, even on such a minute scale. There is a whole world going on around us that so often passes us by.

Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

Initially, it was the honey bees that had caught my attention but once I was kneeling on the path I could see it wasn’t just Apis mellifera that was tucking into the pollen and nectar. There were bumble bees, hoverflies and other little insects I have been unable to identify. My entomological skills are frustratingly lacking. Sedums are great plants not only looking good but being incredible sources of pollen and nectar. Some of the first plants I grew, as a child, were sedums and I could quite happily spend hours watching butterflies feeding on them. I think ‘Purple Emperor’ is particularly attractive with its plum coloured, fleshy foliage appearing in spring and then the pink little star-like flowers opening from August. It is much less bulky than other sedums and I love the contrast of the dark foliage with other late flowering plants such as rudbeckias, heleniums and verbena rigida, all excellent sources of pollen and nectar, too. In fact these later flowering plants are vital for insects and, particularly honey bees.

Sedum 'Purple Emperor'

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’

At this time of year many of our native wildflowers have gone over and honey bees really struggle on their foraging flights to find food. Studies by Sussex University have shown bees have to travel much greater distances in August and September in search of pollen and nectar. At this time of year, perhaps more than any, honey bees have come to rely on garden flowers to provide them with food. Urban bees in fact, are much better off than their rural counterparts because of the greater concentration of gardens and flowering plants available to them.

Sedums are easy to grow; I also grow Sedum spectabile and both have coped with dry spells and this year’s deluge. They are also so easy to propagate from stem cuttings and even from a leaf. Simply remove a leaf from the stem and push it into a pot filled with some compost mixed with quite a bit of grit, water and put on a window sill. It won’t be long before a little shoot will appear from the base of the leaf. Let this grow until you can see roots appearing from the bottom of the pot and then pot on.

Cornflowers

Cornflowers providing a tasty meal

Crocosmia, achillea and verbena bonariensis are all proving popular feeding stations in the garden and on the plot this dahlia is attracting a lot of attention.

Dahlia 'Tahoma Star'

Dahlia ‘Tahoma Star’

It’s rubbish as a cut flower, dropping its petals within minutes of picking but it has earned its place by obviously being packed full of bee food. The scabious have been a success for me and the passing bees. They last well in a vase, are very prolific and bees love them.

Our bees are struggling so much but as gardeners we can do something to help by planting as many of these bee-friendly plants as possible. For fascinating and informative posts about bees and other topics, take a look at Bee Strawbridge’s excellent blog.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

My latest book – The Crafted Garden

My latest book - The Crafted Garden

My latest book - The Crafted Garden

My Book – The Cut Flower Patch

My Book - The Cut Flower Patch. Available to buy from the RHS online bookshop.

The Cut Flower Patch – Garden Media Guild Practical Book 2014

The Cut Flower Patch - Garden Media Guild Practical Book 2014
Follow @wellywomanblog
Instagram

Archives

  • August 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011

Categories

  • autumn
  • Big Biochar Experiment
  • Book Reviews
  • British flowers
  • Bulbs
  • Christmas
  • Cold Frames
  • Countryside
  • crochet
  • Cut Flowers
  • Environment
  • Flowers
  • Food
  • Fruit
  • Garden Course
  • Garden Reviews
  • Herbs
  • House plants
  • In the Garden
  • Interview
  • Miscellaneous
  • On the plot
  • Out and About
  • Pests
  • Plant Nurseries
  • Plant of the Moment
  • Plastic Free Gardening
  • Ponds
  • Product Review
  • propagation
  • Recipes
  • RHS Flower Show
  • Roses
  • Salad
  • Scent
  • Seeds
  • Soil
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Sustainable gardening
  • Trees
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetables
  • Weeds
  • Wildflowers
  • wildlife
  • Winter
  • Woodland
  • Writing

Blogs I read

  • An Artists Garden
  • Annie's Little Plot
  • Backlanenotebook
  • Bean Genie
  • Flighty's Plot
  • Green Tapestry
  • Greenforks
  • Gwirrel's blog
  • Hillwards
  • Jo's Good Life
  • Leadupthegardenpath
  • My Hesperides Garden
  • Out of My Shed
  • Oxonian Gardener
  • Plantaliscious
  • The Anxious Gardener
  • Urban Veg Patch

websites I like

  • Chiltern Seeds
  • Hen and Hammock
  • Higgledy Garden
  • Plantlife
  • Sarah Raven
  • The Organic Gardening Catalogue

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • wellywoman
    • Join 4,575 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • wellywoman
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...