Female bumblebees and honey bees have pollen baskets to collect the pollen grains to return to the nest for their offspring. You can see the how full the pollen basket is on the bumblebee above on the Obedient Plant. . .
And see the pollen basket is visible on this female bumblebee on the Lamb’s Ear.
Such beautiful photos. I try to plant as many bee friendly plants as possible in our gardens and never use any pesticides. We used to have bees in Va. and saw directly the importance of pollination. Our old apple trees which only had a few small apples were loaded with fruit after we got our bees. Thank you for encouraging other gardeners to encourage these tiny helpers. They need our help.
Wonderful, lovely post. I adore bees and have been known to put simple syrup out for them. I saw my first bumble bee this Spring in Colorado for the first time in many years. There are not many honey bees this years and it makes me sad.
You have been a busy bee yourself, Mary…making beautiful changes to your garden shed. I love the hydrangeas but the bees and sunflowers are so happy! Many thanks…
Mary, what a beautiful post. I love the buzz of bees and you captured them perfectly on each bloom! The sounds in the garden are mesmerizing! It is definitely my happy place. We had a severe storm on Monday afternoon and my sunflowers are on the ground. Some have stood back up and I am hopeful for the rest! Happy Wednesday!
Such a coincidence. Yesterday I saw bees on my coneflowers doing business as usual, but for the first time I noticed the golden sacks. At first I thought it was just one 🐝, but then I saw they all had them. Trying to plant
as many bee friendly plants as possible in my small planting area. Lovely post.
What a “honey” of a post! Love it and the Bees. I think I’ll have some honey on my English Muffin this morning! :) Love bees, hate Yellow Jackets and Wasps!
What a wonderful quote! I must confess I didn’t know much about bees until I read this post Mary, especially that they had different genders! Your shots are amazing, as are your bee-utiful blooms and garden, thanks for all the buzz on bees!
Jenna
Love your blog today as well as every morning when I see an email from you! I love how your incorporate beauty and nature together, while educating me at the same time! The photographs of your flowers and bees are as beautiful as the landscape! The door with the quote is adorable and buzzes the truth of the garden! I honestly can’t figure out which post would be my favorite. No sooner than I think to myself, Oh this one is my favorite, then you out do yourself on another post! This year I’ve been all about the sunflower, which won’t stop calling my name! Last week I purchased a stunning sunflower platter and pillow from Pottery Barn! Who knows…those sunflower salad plates may be calling your name! I hope you saved some dollars on that gift card! Lol! Also, I purchased and just hung my new wreath with cotton stems yesterday where I’m going to display the sunflower platter! Originally, I thought it was going to the kitchen counter, but once that wreath went up on the mirror, I knew that the location had changed for the platter. I just love sunflowers this time of year, showcasing the Lord’s work! If you haven’t visited the blog from Beth at Unskinny…you need to check out her recent visit to a sunflower farm and the adorable pics with her family. I’d love to have a trip planned to Alabama to see that wonderful sunflower field!
Gorgeous! So important to have flowers that bees love. Thanks for the reminder. I hope folks take your post to hear and plant more bee friendly flowers!
You are the bee-est friend any bumble bee could ever hope to have! The quote is the perfect choice for any gardener. I enjoy your informative posts with all of your marvelous photos. I never noticed the pollen baskets, but will be on the lookout now. You certainly prove that one is never to old to learn something new. Thank-you!
Great Post! I have never seen pollen baskets on Bees before. We do need them and your garden is a wonderful buffet for them. Love all your plants. Have a great day!
I’ll be a buzz all day just thinking about these gorgeous garden shots. You captures are amazing! I’m in love with the color of your daylily. Do you know the name? Would love to mix in some of these in my garden.
You know I’m a bee enthusiast as well, so this post has filled my heart with joy. No doubt I’ll buzz back to visit again and again.
Your bee photos are fantastic, Mary. I especially love the one on the daylily. So lovely! I hope you are having a lovely week. It looks like you are! :)
I have seen those pollen baskets and did not know that’s what they were, only guessed there was something that allowed it to accumulate there. That’s very cool info, and your pictures are awesome.
Loving your pictures and your knowledge of flowers. So, could I ask you a few questions? since we moved and now I can do a new garden I am wondering is the Mandevilla vine winter proof? How cold will it get and still live? also I am so in love with the Limelight hydrangea, but can’t find it here, I did find a beautiful hydrangea called White Bombshell, do you know if that is a good plant?
Nonie
Hi Nonie, Mandevilla is a tropical vine and is hardy in zones 9-11. I’m in zone 7b so I plant it as an annual vine. You can find your hardiness zone in the US using this guide: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/. I’m not familiar with White Bombshell Hydrangea but given it’s name, it sounds stunning. :) I found this on Monrovia’s site: “A petite form that is well branched producing an abundance of flowers that are just about non-stop from Summer to Fall. The tidy habit is covered with white flowers and backed by green foliage. Little if any pruning is required to maintain its elegant shape. USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9.” Sounds like a winner!
Mary, what a delightful post! Thanks for the flower pictures, and for the bees “doing their thing” to take pollen back to the hive! God really designed everything very well! Have a wonderful week!
The hum of a bee bit me in the nose last week(no kidding) even though I tried to stay away from it. Any way I love bees real or in decorations. Bees are great, we need bees.
We just had to “take down” an ancient tree and in it…a 5 foot honeycomb!! We called a bee-keeper and within 20 minutes they were there with a “vacuum type machine” and got TWO queens…there were two separate colonies! It pays to bee nice… franki
Sorry to hear you had to lose your tree Franki, but how awesome the bees were saved! I’ve never heard of a bee-vacuum, 😀 what a great invention to relocate the bees without harming them. 🐝🌻🌺
Thank you for your beautiful blog
Such beautiful photos. I try to plant as many bee friendly plants as possible in our gardens and never use any pesticides. We used to have bees in Va. and saw directly the importance of pollination. Our old apple trees which only had a few small apples were loaded with fruit after we got our bees. Thank you for encouraging other gardeners to encourage these tiny helpers. They need our help.
I love this! The sound of my garden is song birds too. Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden with us.
Wonderful, lovely post. I adore bees and have been known to put simple syrup out for them. I saw my first bumble bee this Spring in Colorado for the first time in many years. There are not many honey bees this years and it makes me sad.
Your photos are lovely. Bet you had a great time capturing them from flower to flower. I loved learning about the bees pollen baskets! Thanks so much.
You have been a busy bee yourself, Mary…making beautiful changes to your garden shed. I love the hydrangeas but the bees and sunflowers are so happy! Many thanks…
Mary, what a beautiful post. I love the buzz of bees and you captured them perfectly on each bloom! The sounds in the garden are mesmerizing! It is definitely my happy place. We had a severe storm on Monday afternoon and my sunflowers are on the ground. Some have stood back up and I am hopeful for the rest! Happy Wednesday!
What a great way to start my day! Thanks you!!!
Such a coincidence. Yesterday I saw bees on my coneflowers doing business as usual, but for the first time I noticed the golden sacks. At first I thought it was just one 🐝, but then I saw they all had them. Trying to plant
as many bee friendly plants as possible in my small planting area. Lovely post.
What a “honey” of a post! Love it and the Bees. I think I’ll have some honey on my English Muffin this morning! :) Love bees, hate Yellow Jackets and Wasps!
What a wonderful quote! I must confess I didn’t know much about bees until I read this post Mary, especially that they had different genders! Your shots are amazing, as are your bee-utiful blooms and garden, thanks for all the buzz on bees!
Jenna
Love your blog today as well as every morning when I see an email from you! I love how your incorporate beauty and nature together, while educating me at the same time! The photographs of your flowers and bees are as beautiful as the landscape! The door with the quote is adorable and buzzes the truth of the garden! I honestly can’t figure out which post would be my favorite. No sooner than I think to myself, Oh this one is my favorite, then you out do yourself on another post! This year I’ve been all about the sunflower, which won’t stop calling my name! Last week I purchased a stunning sunflower platter and pillow from Pottery Barn! Who knows…those sunflower salad plates may be calling your name! I hope you saved some dollars on that gift card! Lol! Also, I purchased and just hung my new wreath with cotton stems yesterday where I’m going to display the sunflower platter! Originally, I thought it was going to the kitchen counter, but once that wreath went up on the mirror, I knew that the location had changed for the platter. I just love sunflowers this time of year, showcasing the Lord’s work! If you haven’t visited the blog from Beth at Unskinny…you need to check out her recent visit to a sunflower farm and the adorable pics with her family. I’d love to have a trip planned to Alabama to see that wonderful sunflower field!
Gorgeous! So important to have flowers that bees love. Thanks for the reminder. I hope folks take your post to hear and plant more bee friendly flowers!
Learned something today – I didn’t know about pollen baskets. Interesting.
Amazing pictures Mary! Thanks for the Bee lesson!
You are the bee-est friend any bumble bee could ever hope to have! The quote is the perfect choice for any gardener. I enjoy your informative posts with all of your marvelous photos. I never noticed the pollen baskets, but will be on the lookout now. You certainly prove that one is never to old to learn something new. Thank-you!
Great Post! I have never seen pollen baskets on Bees before. We do need them and your garden is a wonderful buffet for them. Love all your plants. Have a great day!
I’ll be a buzz all day just thinking about these gorgeous garden shots. You captures are amazing! I’m in love with the color of your daylily. Do you know the name? Would love to mix in some of these in my garden.
You know I’m a bee enthusiast as well, so this post has filled my heart with joy. No doubt I’ll buzz back to visit again and again.
Hi Sarah, It’s the purple version of a Stella, Purple D’Oro.😀🐝🌺
Your bee photos are fantastic, Mary. I especially love the one on the daylily. So lovely! I hope you are having a lovely week. It looks like you are! :)
Wow! Obviously your garden is perfect for bees.
I have seen those pollen baskets and did not know that’s what they were, only guessed there was something that allowed it to accumulate there. That’s very cool info, and your pictures are awesome.
Love this post about bees. You have captured their beauty perfectly! Love the info on bees that you have shared!
Thanks Kathi 🌸🌺🐝😀
Loving your pictures and your knowledge of flowers. So, could I ask you a few questions? since we moved and now I can do a new garden I am wondering is the Mandevilla vine winter proof? How cold will it get and still live? also I am so in love with the Limelight hydrangea, but can’t find it here, I did find a beautiful hydrangea called White Bombshell, do you know if that is a good plant?
Nonie
Hi Nonie, Mandevilla is a tropical vine and is hardy in zones 9-11. I’m in zone 7b so I plant it as an annual vine. You can find your hardiness zone in the US using this guide: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/. I’m not familiar with White Bombshell Hydrangea but given it’s name, it sounds stunning. :) I found this on Monrovia’s site: “A petite form that is well branched producing an abundance of flowers that are just about non-stop from Summer to Fall. The tidy habit is covered with white flowers and backed by green foliage. Little if any pruning is required to maintain its elegant shape. USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9.” Sounds like a winner!
What most beautiful photos of bees and flowers Mary, I truly enjoyed your blog entry – as always!
Mary, what a delightful post! Thanks for the flower pictures, and for the bees “doing their thing” to take pollen back to the hive! God really designed everything very well! Have a wonderful week!
Thanks Linda, Amen! 🐝🌻🌺😀
~Mary~
What pretty pictures of the busy bees !!
I would love to buzz over to see your beautiful shed all day long !! :)
Keep cool,
Paula
IN
Thanks Paula, hope you’re cooler than we are! 🐝🌻☀️
You certainly have a happy garden, dear Mary, with lovely music to your ears with all those bees buzzing about!
Thanks for the buzzzzzzzzz!! 🐝🌻🐝🌻🐝🌻🐝🌻
I love seeing bees in the garden. And I always enjoy taking pictures of them in my garden, too! I love your quote!
Happy weekend.
The hum of a bee bit me in the nose last week(no kidding) even though I tried to stay away from it. Any way I love bees real or in decorations. Bees are great, we need bees.
We just had to “take down” an ancient tree and in it…a 5 foot honeycomb!! We called a bee-keeper and within 20 minutes they were there with a “vacuum type machine” and got TWO queens…there were two separate colonies! It pays to bee nice… franki
Sorry to hear you had to lose your tree Franki, but how awesome the bees were saved! I’ve never heard of a bee-vacuum, 😀 what a great invention to relocate the bees without harming them. 🐝🌻🌺
Mary, I loved revisiting this amazing post! The hum of bees in the garden is music to my ears! Thank you for sharing at Gardens Galore!
Lovely photos well done! :)
This is so very beautiful. Do you have a resource for those fantastic plates? Such a happy photo for this dreary winter day in Central New York!
Thank you Caterina! You can see the table with the sources for all things bee here: https://homeiswheretheboatis.net/2017/06/23/the-bees-knees-table-in-the-potting-shed/