Pollinators need the sun
With lots of rain and lack of sunshine, most of the plants in my vegetable garden are not doing that great. I am not sure that we are getting enough pollinators, but maybe they are also waiting for the sun to come out. The eggplant that volunteered in the front garden is my most prolific, maybe because it has full sun when it does come out. I pick the eggplant as soon as they are ready!
I do see lots of butterflies, and honeyeater birds around, but not so many bees. I wish I could photograph a ulysses butterfly, but they are so fast, and the brilliant colour is only on the back side of their wings. I am getting a new camera though so am pretty excited about the feature where you can take a series of photos very fast. I am getting the Fujifilm S1500SD - I wonder if anyone else is using that same camera? These butterflies sometimes sit and sip very slowly so are easier to capture on film.
This geisha girl normally attracts lots of bees, so maybe it is just the sunshine we are missing and soon the garden will be buzzing again.
The branches are lying down on the grass, so saturated with rainwater that they have no energy left to lift themselves up. The forecast for the weekend is sunshine, so I am ready, and so is the garden! Hopefully the bees and other pollinators are waiting in the wings for curtain time!
The butterfly on the ixora is beautiful! What kind is it? I have a 'Geisha Girl' and she's always covered in butterflies. It's my #1 butterfly plant. As for the weather, I wish I could send you half of my sunshine, and you could send me half of your rain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Floridagirl. My part of the florida needs a little bit more rain, but we have plenty of sunshine! Hope you can get the sun this weekend. The bees will love it! I love that Geisha Girl ixora. The color is quite unique. I only have red ixora in my garden.
ReplyDeleteIt's more than likely that all the overcast dreary rainy days you've been experiencing would explain the trouble with your veges. Down here, the showers are finally over, the sun is out and the garden has picked up immediately!! Even the seeds I planted many weeks ago have started to sprout ... lucky I didn't throw them all out.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your new camera ... not much of an expert on them so I hope it works out well.
My vegetables are being cooked on their plants with the intense sun here. We are waiting on the rains to start just to cool things down a tad.I used your Pigion pea shade idea and planted some Mammoth sunflower seeds [had the seeds already] on the west side of the new planters. Maybe they will provide a little shade from the afternoon sun for the plants by summer here. I agree that photographing butterflys is an art and not easy to do.Hope your new camera gives you that edge...
ReplyDeletefloridagirl,
ReplyDeleteI dont know the names of all the butterflies around, here, but I should learn the name of this one. It is very common and sits still, which is nice!
Ami, sorry I dont think I was very clear there - the geisha girl is the purple flower. This orangy one is the most common, but my yellow one has started flowering this weekend. I do love ixora - they never seem to stop flowering!
You must have both had your wish - we just had a few tiny sprinkles over the weekend!
Bernie, yes everyone has been complaining so I know I am not alone! I am hoping that some of the bugs dissapear with the cooler weather - sprayed all the seedlings with soapy water over the weekend as someone was having a feast and it wasnt me!
ReplyDeletesanddune, great idea with the sunflowers as they should attract bees as well!
That is a beautiful butterfly. Your new camera will really help you capture them--even the quicker ones. Hope you are having lots of sunshine to keep your plants blooming happily;-)
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