Bees, Daphne and Indoor Plant

Queen Buff-tailed bumble bee

Bee on camellia

The first queen bumble bee has been out in the garden for a while now. Luckily I do have a lot of winter plants out that it can use.  There is a winter honeysuckle up at the top of the garden and a small-flowered camellia (Camellia transkoensis) outside the kitchen door which I notice the bee visits a lot. I also have the daphne fully out now which the bee must love. I expect it also uses the viburnums of which I have two. So there really is enough for it to eat. I think it is a buff-tailed bumble bee.

Bee making the most of  sunny wall

I have a daphne I am very proud of. It is one I took a cutting of myself from the garden at  Cecil Sharp House in London, (home to folk music) when they used to have gardening classes there. It must be about four years ago and it  has now really matured and looks gorgeous. 

Daphne odora

I was given a hippeastrum (also known as an amaryllis) for Christmas and it is the most wonderful plant. This blog is not about indoor plants and I normally don't grow them, but this one is so wonderful I thought it deserved a mention. It is about to have its second flowering while the first is still out which will be spectacular. I don't have anywhere particularly sunny in the flat, which means it has taken its time to come out and is lasting longer than normal. I stand it on a little stool by the glass garden door to give it as much sun as possible and I think the lack of light is what's kept it going for such a long time.