Sunday 23 June 2013

Pollinators

We tend to thank the bees for all the pollination that takes place in our gardens, but of course there are thousands of insects responsible.   Bees are only a small part.   But nowhere is that pollination more evident than it is in my aquelegias this year.

I started out a few years ago with a bought-in plant of deepest blue.  It flowered really well and I looked forward to seeing it again, seeded, the next year.   Well, now about five years later, I have them all over the garden (I am a great believer in letting flowers seed - it is better than weeds seeding) and I don't think two are the same.   But there is not a single blue one.

A friend, who writes a gardening column for a magazine, says that once you have aquelegia in your garden you will never be without them again.  I would vouch for that.   They have spread round to the back patio and also along the sides of the Lane.

As I came in a short while ago from my walk with Tess I photographed a few of them for you to see.  I hope you agree that every single one of them is beautiful, blue or not.  As children we called the single ones with anthers 'dancing fairies' and the smaller double ones 'grandmother's bonnets' - aren't the colloquial names a lot nicer than the Latin names?

Speaking of colloquial names, the Lane is lined with cow parsley - just at its best at the moment - a froth of white with a pleasant smell.    A friend, W, reminded me that when we were children we called it 'mother die' - anyone else remember that?









12 comments:

jill said...

Just perfect xx

Arija said...

They certainly are delightful. I have blue and pink 'grandma's bonnets in my 160 year old garden on the mountain and really cherish them. They have survived a number of of bushfires as well as owners . Survivors, like me.

Twiglet said...

We have aquelegia but seem to have the opposite problem - all our pink ones disappear and the blue take over! Swap you!! x Jo

Heather said...

Some of your 'granny bonnets' are different from mine - I love them too and let them seed freely. No blue ones though. The cow parsley here is going over now - I have only ever known it as that and love it. I have sweet cicely in the garden which looks quite similar.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Lovely photos - we called them Granny's Bonnet and Shooting Stars. Your Cow Parsley is quite similar to what we call Wild Celery. The Native Americans found it quite useful for food.

Em Parkinson said...

We call them Columbines here and mine are all different colours too, from deep purple to white.

My son's best friend calls Cow Parsley 'Lucky-By-Brain' and I still don't know if he made it up or whether it's a real Devon thing!

angryparsnip said...

Beautiful !

Do you think what is the soil that makes them pink or blue ?

cheers, parsnip

Molly said...

I think they're lovely too - the bees love them. Maybe it's the pollinators that bring the different pinks and blues.

Penny said...

So many lovely shapes and colours.

crafty cat corner said...

So pretty and all for nothing, who cares what colour they are...
Briony
xx

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for calling in on me. Please call again.

Reader Wil said...

Your aquelegia are very unique, no two are the same.Great photos!
Wil, ABCW Team.