Hello, I’ve not been posting for a while because I’m now a lapsed beekeeper. In the end it felt simpler to stop. It was too hard finding a non rainy day to inspect in between work and the kids, especially in a county which this year had rain every day for over 50 days. And then when the sun does miraculously come out, getting in a hot, bulky beesuit doesn’t feel as tempting as heading to the beach!

I’m still interested in nature and the bees I see around me though. So I’ve decided to write about my little Cornish garden and my attempts to make it wildlife friendly instead. I think this was first suggested by my friend Emma and it planted a seed in me – thanks Em!

Let’s get into it. In the month of June, there is lots to see in the garden. There were already lots of mature bushes and trees here but some plants I added myself when I moved here around four years ago. One of my favourite and most successful new plants is Lambs ear, pictured below. Its soft, silvery-green leaves are used by wool carder bees for their nests. I used to regularly see wool carders in my old garden but haven’t spotted many here yet, will keep hoping.

Here is Selfheal, a low-growing little thing with deep purple flowers that I see bumbles buzzing around. It started growing around my wall and I like it too much to get rid of it.

Verbena (the tall purple plant below) was added by me after an existing bush collapsed in a storm, leaving a gap. I was hoping to get butterflies coming for this but haven’t had many. After getting Painted Lady butterflies from a kit, it’s brought home just how delicate and demanding the butterfly life cycle is. They need the right plants for their caterpillars, the caterpillars somehow have to escape being caught by birds, they need somewhere undisturbed to grow in their chrysalis for a few weeks, then they need suitable flowers for their butterfly stage!

Below is Hebe. Two of these light pink hebe bushes were already here when I arrived and I love them. Really popular with visting bumble bees.

Purple toadflax below, a wildflower that sprung up on its own. I love its deep purple. It never takes long for a bumble bee to show up to this patch.

And below Erynigum planum, a close relative of sea holly which I planted in a big pot. I thought this only flowered every two years, but to my joy it’s started making flowers again this year! Once the purple thistle like flowers emerge they will be absolutely covered in bees. I lthe to sit on the bench and watch them, this part of the garden faces south and is a total sun trap. Well that’s it for now, on another post soon will try to do an overview of the garden and what’s in it. It’s not huge but still I’m finding there is so much you can do to help wildlife while still enjoying the garden yourself 🙂