Awakening Sleeping BEEuties

[TallTrees]

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From last year they were Sleeping Beeuties 2018 to

This year 2019  again these little kind and sweet bees have caught me unaware and when I opened

the sleeping box there were a few anxious looking faces!  So up went the boxes sharpish

and they were put on top to feel the fresh air and off they flew ~ they'll be back always

to the same spot they first remember.

These are the boxes facing South in the hot sun.  

This is a box with                                                                                 an emerging bee under the release box top.

Wildlife have no respect for photographers!

[TallTrees]

That's about the most common butterfly here too and I haven't seen those supposed painted ladies at all! @Cleoriff and @Anonymous.
The garden is tiring now Rose's are looking decidedly tired.
The junior Blackbirds have returned to the garden hunting grubs and worms. The Robin has got all chicks away and is a cool dude again.
The apples and pears are trying to ripen in the weakening sun. The trees are dropping their leaves and they are blowing around in the September winds which are still warm.
Soon the sleeping bees will be taken in to spend their winter in a cool garage waiting for next spring when everything will awake and burst into life, simply wonderful.

[Cleoriff]

Some parts of my garden are tiring @TallTrees ...particularly my bedding plants. (mind you my other half convinced me to go to a cheaper place this year and I always think you get what you pay for!)

Last year my pots were still in full flower at the end of October.

My two roses are still doing well...and I do have a a couple of late flowering jasmine climbers which are brightening the place up.

I have a hardy fuschia in the front garden and that is still flowering like mad....

[TallTrees]

Possibly the quick changes in temp. too?  To give Hubby a chance to "get out of it" @Cleoriff 

I absolutely love those hardy Fuschias when a child we had a Fuschia Hedge it fascinated me always.

These are my bees today Sept 5th all growing into little Red Mason bees.  I will be taking them

in end Sept/Oct.  I will do a count then as with these bees to keep them safe I clean them all.

In the wild, of course, they would just come out of the plugged tubes naturally.  

When I open the tubes I clean them against pollen mites that can destroy the tube.

 

I put quite a few large begonias in pots this year and they came out fabulous.

[Cleoriff]

Great pics @TallTrees  and the one of your begonias only proves my point.

I had some last year and they did beautifully. This year they are going over and it's only 5th September.

I won't be going back to the Hilltop Nursery again and that's for sure. lol

[TallTrees]

Yes but to save "other half again" @Cleoriff 

This is the other one same shop, same plant, planted same time!

Looks a lot more perky though!

[Cleoriff]

Lovely again @TallTrees 

However, no more struggling to 'save my other half'

It's well known on here that he knows nothing about gardening and cares even less.

So the cheaper the better as far as he is concerned....

[TallTrees]

Well goodbye Hilltop Nursery 🙄
Quite right @Cleoriff
I choose the nursery that has the fresh plants and importantly are maintained properly, watering is very important once little plants collapse they never recover and don't do well after.
Cheap is not the answer need Good strong well looked after plants as it is hard work putting them all in🙄 and WE EXPECT RESULTS AFTER ALL THAT.

[jonsie]

I understand that Ray has good working knowledge of all gardening tools and does his level best to trim back the grass and all surrounding areas. Methinks you do him an injustice @Cleoriff , I would go so far as to describe him as a quite accomplished professional trimmer

[Cleoriff]

I use Dobbies mainly. Even though they are massive and you may pay a bit more, the annuals are watered daily and I have never had a problem with them. Once I went in July (late for me) and the plants were reduced and still looking beautiful

The other nursery, you could see some of the annuals were already leggy and dry. So to hell with saving money.

I do see some lovely plants on our local market. The only problem with that, they have to be bagged up and carried to your car which is in one of the local car parks. I can't get all the plants I need from there in one go, so I have to give the market a miss sadly.

[Cleoriff]

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@jonsie wrote:

I understand that Ray has good working knowledge of all gardening tools and does his level best to trim back the grass and all surrounding areas. Methinks you do him an injustice @Cleoriff , I would go so far as to describe him as a quite accomplished professional trimmer

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Yeah @jonsie  like LEVELLING my Jasmine Nudiflorum when I was in Spain. His instructions were, trim it back. He trimmed it so well he brought the trellis down it was clambering through. I came home to a stump of a shrub and trellis all over the lawn.

Still he paid for that mistake. He has never been allowed to forget it

Best of all, the jasmine starting sprouting again....and is now climbing all over the trellis better than ever. So Ray now tells people he did the best thing by 'pruning it back'