Oregon Grape-Holly blooming in late November
Most visitors to the post office go to get their mail. These visitors go to get nectar. The Oregon Grape Holly is in full bloom, offering nectar and nectar is what they got. Honeybees, bumblebees, even a couple of green hummingbirds partake in the feast.
What is the importance of nectar? My Biodiversity Garden states “Nectar is the fuel for our pollinators such as solitary bees, bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, moths and bats. It is the only source of energy and without it, the pollinators cannot fly. Nectar is secreted by nectaries within the flower.”
According to Dave’s Gardens Mahonia Aquifolium blooms in mid spring. This is late November! The plant is growing against a brick wall, facing south, during an unseasonably dry autumn. In any case, the wild pollinators love it.
November 24th…This honeybee is getting nectar from an early blooming Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia Aquifolium)
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
AWESOME POST!
Thanks, Lonnie.
Really nice camera work. Your bumble bee queens look bigger than ours.
Thanks, Emily. Yes, those bumblebee queens are huge. We are in for a cold snap next week, so I hope they have someplace warm to live.
Terrific video!
Thank you. I love making videos of bees on flowers. I felt fortunate to get one more shoot before the cold weather hits next week.
THIS blog is great! Just preparing a post for my blog about Oregon Grape Holly. Thanks to you i didn´t even have to look up the english word for Mahonia aquifolium! Love your ´log hive´… Have you heard about the “sun hive”?
[…] and in this particular case it is the “Oregon Grape Holly” as i learned from this blog. The name i know for it is Mahonia aquifolium. The particular plant shown in the linked blog is […]
Beautiful! The flowers, bees, hummingbird and music – just beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it. I went back a couple of days ago. This during cold weather of about 45 degrees. The blooms were fading, but there was still a couple of queen bumblebees, (they are so big) and some more hummingbirds. One hummer had a beautiful red ‘hood’ which flashed a sort of fluorescent red when it turned towards the sun. By the time I got my camera it was gone.
Zou are correct to notice that your plant flowers in a different time from what oregon grape should. This is because your plant is a related species from Asia: Mahonia bealei. The two are often confused.
I looked up Mahonia bealei (Leatherleaf mahonia.} It said…”color will bleach out if grown in full sun;” I suppose it could be Mahonia bealei, but I’m still going with Oregon Grape because it’s growing on the south side of a brick building. The bricks absorb the heat of the sun which could make the plant bloom in a different season. Also being in full sun, the leaves don’t bleach. On a further note, I think the landscape artist would pick an Oregon Grape Holly to be grown at an Oregon Post Office being that’s the State Flower. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 🙂