The old apple tree is laden with fruit, so many, her branches weep.......wasps and hornets have taken a few but there are plenty this year for us all. I look forward to picking the apples, taking them indoors and making crumbles..........the fruits from her are so sweet, you can eat them straight from the tree...............some of the bark has fallen from her trunk this year and there appears to be some little creature storing food inside a large hollow, I suspect a woodmouse......
Elderberries hang plump and ripe, this shrub will become a bonanza. Thrushes will predominate but birds such as the Blackcap can be found picking through the clusters and come nightfall no woodmouse or bank vole in the area forsakes this feast.......
The hips are already being enjoyed by the birds....
plump and swollen they are more than inviting......
Teasels are drying beautifully......finches and other birds will enjoy these as the weather turns colder.....
Blackberries are ripening and are just too tempting for me to pass by. I took a handful today and enjoyed them as I made my way around the garden..........fresh and wholesome....straight from the hedgerow.........
As autumn approaches and the days become colder the lovely humble bee will disappear.....
Bumble bees cannot make enough honey to survive the winter.......the drones, workers and old queen will all die.......
The new queen will find somewhere to hibernate........I have piles of logs placed under the hedgerow, and under shrubs. My hope is that she will stay here, in the safety and protection of the garden........
Sometimes on a warm day in winter you may see the new queen flying around.......will there be winter flowers in your garden for her.............will there be shelter to see her through cold days and nights........our bees are precious, we need to help them....their survival is important to us all..........................I have had an amazing summer with the bumble bee.......hopefully the autumn will be mild and I will have many more weeks to enjoy the quiet drone of the humble bee in my garden................
The old apple tree is laden with fruit, so many, her branches weep.......wasps and hornets have taken a few but there are plenty this year for us all. I look forward to picking the apples, taking them indoors and making crumbles..........the fruits from her are so sweet, you can eat them straight from the tree...............some of the bark has fallen from her trunk this year and there appears to be some little creature storing food inside a large hollow, I suspect a woodmouse......
Elderberries hang plump and ripe, this shrub will become a bonanza. Thrushes will predominate but birds such as the Blackcap can be found picking through the clusters and come nightfall no woodmouse or bank vole in the area forsakes this feast.......
The hips are already being enjoyed by the birds....
plump and swollen they are more than inviting......
Teasels are drying beautifully......finches and other birds will enjoy these as the weather turns colder.....
Blackberries are ripening and are just too tempting for me to pass by. I took a handful today and enjoyed them as I made my way around the garden..........fresh and wholesome....straight from the hedgerow.........
As autumn approaches and the days become colder the lovely humble bee will disappear.....
Bumble bees cannot make enough honey to survive the winter.......the drones, workers and old queen will all die.......
The new queen will find somewhere to hibernate........I have piles of logs placed under the hedgerow, and under shrubs. My hope is that she will stay here, in the safety and protection of the garden........
Sometimes on a warm day in winter you may see the new queen flying around.......will there be winter flowers in your garden for her.............will there be shelter to see her through cold days and nights........our bees are precious, we need to help them....their survival is important to us all..........................I have had an amazing summer with the bumble bee.......hopefully the autumn will be mild and I will have many more weeks to enjoy the quiet drone of the humble bee in my garden................
26 comments:
Hello again Cheryl :-D
I added your blog to my new blogger list that updates. This is the first time I have used it and I can see that is a good addition to the blog. I added you so I don't miss your remaining posts :-D
This is the kind of stroll I like to hear about with a garden full of plants that will feed birds and wildlife. I have teasel for the first time this year. I am happy to feed the goldfinches with it but I would really love to get some photos and videos! Fingers crossed :-D
Re my comments on your last post - sorry I did ramble on a bit. I am glad you found them positive and food for thought :-D
Enjoy the rest of your week :-D
I am so surprised that you have poppies during summer. They can't grow here in the heat of summer. Your bees have certainly been busy helping the apple tree with its heavily laden limbs. I hope you are happy and well.
Those apples and berries look delicious Cheryl! You have a wonderful garden...I just went back through all your older posts and have truly enjoyed my visit with you and your garden friends!
Hello Shirl......the updates are great, it is a good addition to a blog.....thank you for adding me to your list, most kind.....
I hope you get the photos of the goldfinch with the teasels....I hve seen them on the seedheads but have never been able to get a clear picture......
Hi Lisa.....this summer has been cool to say the least, hence quite a few poppies have bloomed again....an added bonus to the garden......
Thank you Terry so pleased you enjoyed you stroll with me.....
I love the picture of the bumblebee on the white flower, Cheryl. The intricate pattern on his wings is something you don't notice when they're flying about. He looks so plump and contented.
I'm fascinated by your elderberries. I'm sure we must have them here in the U.S., but I have never seen any.
My apple trees are groaning under the weight of the fruit, too. Time to start baking!
Beckie and I spent some time together today and visited the Idea Garden we've posted about before. Wish you could have strolled with us--bumble bees, wasps, and butterflies buzzed and floated all around us as we enjoyed looking at all the flowers.
Hi Rose.....your garden stroll sounds wonderful, I wish I could have been there to.....it makes such a difference when wildlife makes a show for us.....
Apples seem to have done well everywhere this year....the cool temperatures and showers must have suited them.....
I find it interesting that berries ripen in your area around the same time they are ripening in the mountains where I live in California. Just this week I was driving in the mountains here, and saw ripening elderberries!
Cheryl, while at Rose's today, I was looking at all her apples and wondering how yours were doing. It does look like a bumper crop. If we lived closer, I'd trade some peaches for some of them(you could move to the U.S. you know!) My grandfather used to make elderberry wine and seeing yours brought back memories of him squeezing out the juice. They stained anything they came close to! And blackberries! My all time favorite for making cobblers. I have picked many over the years with my grandmother and then on my own. I LOVE blackberry jam made from the whole berry seeds and all.
Besides stacking wood, what else can we do to help the bees through winter? They have certainly been busy here and we are noticing so many kinds.
The finches are now eating coneflower seeds here as they have cleaned out all the seed from the sunflowers. I have really enjoyed watching them this summer.
Still thinking about your last post and trying to adjust....
Dear Beckie....it is good to know the bees are busy your end.....sometimes the queen will use a small hole under shrubs, so just take care when clearing up this year....lose her you lose the colony.....they will even hibernate under sheds or outbuildings.....a watchful eye on nature is the best thing you can do......I know that you do that now, and that makes me so pleased....
I love the story of your grandmother and you...blackberries are my favourite to along with the elderberries.......if we were neighbours I am sure we would have fun....I would love to help you with your garden, it would give me much pleasure..........it is a bit difficult though with the huge expanse of water between our countries....lol
Re: yesterdays post.....read Baker Watsons comment....his words really touched my heart, he mentioned something I really had not thought about....leaving all my writings for my family to read....anyway take a look..... I am rethinking the whole thing and will just sail along at the moment and see what happens.
Hi Cheryl
What a bounty! Especially love the full heads of elderberries. Ooh, are you going to make elderberry wine??
I'm going to do a post on elder, as I've just done an assignment on it (which has been keeping me from my blog). Not tonight - too exhausted, but maybe tomorrow . . xx
What a lovely stroll! I enjoyed the blackberries, they are so nice eaten straight of the bush. Glad I have a blackberry in my garden too, a thornless one so no stratches.
Your old apple tree looks great laden with fruit. I have 2 young ones (ballerinas) but they carry quite a bit of fruit too so I'm looking forward to some apple picking soon.
For the bees I've created many a corner in my garden where they can safely overwinter. I'm doing the best I can to help all the creatures in my garden to safely overwinter.
Hi naturewitch.......I shall put some of the elderberries into fruit crumbles.......I love the flavour of them....only a few as they can upset the stomach.....
Most I shall leave for the birds.....
Look forward to your elder post....a very magical and mystical tree and one that I respect......
Hi Yolanda it is lovely to hear that the insects will be safe in your garden....somehow I thought they would be.....
I have prickles on my blackberries, so lots of scratches.....they are part of an old hedgerow that surrounds my garden.....good for keeping upwanted guests out!!!
Lovely close ups of the bees, I love them! Well done!
A lovely post Cheryl. Have you got another pic of your old lady with all her fruits please (cheeky I know, sorry, but I think she is awesome - the matriarch of your garden) - I would love to see her again.
Re the blackberries I also love going along the hedgerows and picking them. When we have people for dinner, I will often make a blackberry and apple crumble for pud - all locally grown. I can't wait for Kyla to get a bit older so she can come and 'help'!!!
Is that picture on the top of your blog you and Riley by the way? I only noticed it today. It's a lovely picture. Hope you are all well and love to all xxxxx
Hi Dawny....when the apples are red I will do another post on the old girl......so you will see her again....
Blackberries go with the countryside....sloes are another thing I will pick in autumn....I always make sloe gin....I love it when I have been gardening in the depths of winter, I come in and just have a tiny glass ...soon warms you up....
Mich took that photograph today....Riley and I were talking bees and how they had pollenated the lavender....because he is at school I rarely have a chance to feature him on my blog.....now the dear little chap is there for me to see every day...
hope you and Richard are well and the lovely little ones....
Hi Cheryl,
I have had a change of tactic with the caterpillars,I now take them off and put them into a container for the birds to eat, I have left a couple of the bigger ones so we have butterflies next year.I hope by doing this I have redemed myself....lol
Cheers Mark
This post has made me really think about the places I have around my garden that my bees could nest in for winter. We have milder winters here, but it still gets frosty come January. Do bees nest only in woodpiles or will they next in rockpiles too?
Cindy
Hi Cindy.......quite possibly....they may use a hole beneath the rocks, so I would think your rock pile would be helpful to many overwintering creatures.....
You are forgiven Mark.......but only just......
Oh good! I have lots of raised planters built from chunks of recycled concrete that serve as lizard habitats and hopefully the bumblebees will nestle in there too.
Hugs,
Cindy
Nice thought lizards and a queen bee.....
Oh Cheryl, thank YOU for this wonderful morning stroll through your garden, it made my heart sing with gladness.... the soft breeze, the sun warming our backs and the sounds of the morning--everything was delightful. Thanks you for sharing your sanctuary with us.
May the Sun shine upon you today!
Hugs,
Nice to stroll around with you in your garden. Your apple tree looks truly delicious - a good year with plenty of crumbles.
Your bees look especially detailed and a little sad. But I'm sure your queen bee will find a winter home in the logs you have provided for them (and any other creature who choses to spend the winter in your sanctuary.
I have not been around lately and missed many posts. My little granddaughter had a "scope" done at the hospital and I was on pins and needles until she was back safe and sound at home.
There 's lots of catching up to do.
Hope your weather improves.
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