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Hungry Bees

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gray1720:
Interesting - I hadn't noticed bees in the dahlias, but short of a disaster in the loft I shouldn't be short of those!

We also have a lot round of here of a creeping plant rather like bugle, which flowers in wild profusion in the hedge bottoms, that I've lured into a flower bed (it spread from the verge, I didn't go digging it up from the wild!). I'm not actually sure what it is - it's less upright and shorter than Ajuga reptans and runners like mad, I assume it's a wild Ajuga of some sort. But that's being encouraged too - the bees love that. And, as Obelixx says, insects encourages swifts etc in - hopefully to my new swift boxes!

lavenderlux:
I think your creeping blue flower is 'ground ivy' not related to Ivy though.  We have quite a lot of this and the bees do like it, same family as White Dead Nettle, another of this family which bees like is Black Horehound, it has a pinkish/purple flower.  The beekeeper on our allotments had his honey analysed last Spring and there was a high percentage of 'Forget me not' in it, this is an easy flower to grow for bees, as it readily self seeds   Also popular with our bees is 'Cat's Ear', this has a flower like a Dandelion

saddad:
Any of the echiums... like blue bedder (Vipers Bugloss) and borage are very good... many self seed.

gray1720:
That's the one, lavenderlux! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glechoma_hederacea

I'm also in the throes of putting a washing-up bowl pond for more general insects - I dug in two bowls I was given yesterday, briefed SWMBO on her role in the proceedings, and this morning it's under three inches of snow... They are currently surrounded by lots of borage seedlings from the borage plants that grew in a garden I've never ever sown borage in. Given that borage is supposed to be tender, I'm mildly impressed they've made it this far.

I like the thought of viper's bugloss - any idea how it is on alkaline clay? The only place I've ever seen it was Snettisham in Norfolk, which suggests it might be OK, but East Anglian soil can vary so much...

Obelixx:
 I think echium vulgare - viper's bugloss - likes well drained soil but isn't fussy about alkalinity or acidity.  It's on the RHS list for pollinators and bees do seem to love it.

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