The new Echium Bee Bed is filling in well. From the colorful lobelia in front to the tallest Tower of Jewels echium plant, they all attract bees.
July 3…The Hugelkulture bed is looking so much better since we weeded, planted, and mulched with compost and wood chips.
A view from our garden bench in July reveals the garden in full glory.
July 3…The dwarf sunflowers are open and attracting bees already. It’s older siblings can only watch with envy.
This deer seems to be asking me the question…”What are you doing out here at this time in the evening, this is MY time?” In the video you’ll see why she looked up…she picked up the sound of the camera’s zoom lens. Their hearing is phenomenal, but luckily their eyesight isn’t that good. I’m standing in the sunlight just a short distance away, but she can’t see me very well.
Arrrgh! Deer damage!
I’m not sure if there’s any reason to net what’s left of these potatoes. They have been stripped of their leaves by the ‘cute’ deer. 😦
I mulched this corn in the morning…by the afternoon, the deer had already sampled it. A temporary fence is now in place to protect it…I hope it recovers.
This tomato’s only crime was to be planted at the end of the bed where the deer could reach it easily.
Planted from seed last year, these Hollyhocks have survived the deer twice. We’re so happy to finally see the blooms, but we’ve yet to see any bees on them.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
Great minds think alike on both sides of the Atlantic, but only one has any facility whatsoever with a camera/cameraphone. I was out yesterday with my sad photo and video tools (blame the tools, not the tool holding them), trying to film honeys and bumbles on my St John’s wort–honeys in the morning, bumbles the rest of the day. I also tried to photo some of the flowers/weeds in the yard. And, we don’t have deer, but I am looking at a fox right now that is eating the peanuts left by the birds on the ground. Now, I am too embarrassed to put anything on my website after seeing this marvellous video. Where can I like something a thousand times? Love your yard, the look and feel of it. Do you use any special software on your phone? Last question: where are the crocodiles?
Thanks for your compliments, but the kudos should definitely go to the camera and the software. I finally broke down and joined the iPhone ranks. The iPhone 6 has a camera that rivals my bigger cameras, but I can slip it into my buttoned shirt pocket. Very handy. I always have it on me for those opportunities that pop up in the garden. (Scenes that wouldn’t get recorded if I had to go back for the bigger cameras.)
The new version of iMovie (I think it’s 10 or 11), is light years better than the older version (6.0) that I was using before. So with the camera and the software, it’s relatively easy to make a movie.
Hahaha…as I was typing the names of the musical selections, I was wondering if anyone would pick up on the Crocodile composition…”No, not a chance !” You proved me wrong. 😀
Thank you, I greatly enjoyed the video. Here my problem is pigeons, they waited until the spinach was about two/three inches tall and then ate the lot!
Arrrrgh! Frustrating!
We have deer around here but I have had no problem with them in the garden – yet. It is interesting to see that we don’t get the same interest by the bees in the plants. My Hypericum does not attract bees, I am almost sure it is the same variety. Your garden looks a real bee paradise. Your bumbles are very cute, I wish we got the same ones over here. Amelia
It took awhile for the deer to become a real nuisance. I mean we had to fence the garden from day one, but I can’t understand them eating potatoes and tomatoes and now even corn. What’s up with that??? Don’t they know that potatoes and tomatoes are in the nightshade family? I’ve never even considered fencing them off. Grumble, grumble.
On a more pleasant note, with article after article declaring that bumbles are in decline and are not adapting to climate change, I feel very fortunate that we have many many of them. I just wish I was as good about identifying them as you are.
I can’t explain the hypericum question. I know the St.John’s wort that grows low doesn’t attract many bees, but on the large bush Hypericum, they LOVE it.
Looking good Pat, enjoyed the video. Shame about the deer, fingers crossed they haven’t bothered our crops yet this year. Although our chickens had a good feast of cabbage and broccoli, so much for fencing them in 🙂
Haha, you can be thinking of all the cabbages and broccoli they ate when you are having a delicious chicken dinner. 😀
You know, when I was thinking about all the deer damage I was getting in my relatively small garden, I wondered if regular farmers with large plots of land like yourself suffered from deer damage. I hope you continue to be free of them. Of course you won’t be able to watch them meander through your backyard though. 😁
The only thing that the farmers protect against around here is wild boar as they can dig up quite a lot in one pass. They seem to be happy enough for the deer to browse the arable crops, if indeed they do eat it (oats, rye, barley, wheat, corn)?
I think our dogs are blind sometimes as the deer still come within meters of the house, especially in the woods to the front, but as I said so far, since we have lived here full time, we haven’t had anything nibbled 🙂
The Echium Bee Bed is an inspiration for our garden planting next year, and a wonderful video of your shy visitor. No deer in our garden although hopeful we’ll get a hedgehog.
I’d be happy to send you some echium seed. It’s very prolific. Is is legal to send seed to the UK?
Hedgehogs? I’ve never seen one, but are you sure you want one…in the garden? 🙂
Oh yes, I’d love some echium and a hedgehog 😉
Well, I can’t help you with the hedgehog. I did read up on them though. Cute little guys that can make good pets…and they are in decline.
I’ll harvest some echium seed for you and Emily if she wants any. I’ll get some Hidcote Hypericum seeds too. They seem to germinate anywhere. We’ve seen them self seeded in a tiny flower pot or between rocks. And the bees go nuts over them. It would be fun to see if they’d have the same attraction to bees over there as they do here. Amelia (from A French Garden) says her hypericum doesn’t attract the bees like mine…maybe mine isn’t a Hidcote Hypericum like I’m claiming it to be. In any case you’ll get the seeds and I’ll send her some too, to see.
That’s wonderful – thank you! I love attracting bees, butterflies and birds to our garden. All wildlife welcome 🙂