Summer's here and so is a bee!

After a long winter, a slow spring and very little happening, we have passed the longest day and things seem to be picking up.  I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but anyway things are flowering and today has been particularly sunny and pleasant.

So to my first bee.. . .  As I was pulling out weeds that have shot up due to the rain and warm weather, I saw this small bee hovering around on an armeria plant. These seem to be one of the most successful flowering plants I have and they consistently seem to attract bees, if the bees are out there.  This was a particularly small bee but nevertheless one of the first adventurers into this part of Scarborough.




Then, as if to prove that there is hope of further insect life, I was about to pull up a weed and saw this hoverfly settled on it.  I watched it for a few minutes and it obviously liked this type of weed.  But, when it had gone I am afraid to say I pulled it out.  There are plenty of other plants to attract the hoverly back and I am sure as weeds are strong they will grown back occasionally.



Other things are starting to happen and I finally nearly have some cornflowers.  They are tall and starting to develop a flower head.  So hopefully in not too long there will be some lovely blue flowers to keep the insects happy.







Also, last year's very successful sea thistle (eryngium gigantium) is starting to shoot up.  This was so popular with bees last year, the sooner it can develop the thistle the better.  I also have one in a pot, but this isn't growning quite as well so I might have to think about moving it.

All in all, quite a positive afternoon spent doing some weeding and seeing the progress.  Hopefully just a beginning.