I want to buy bees

Continuing my very daring bee chasing adventures, I found a few fuzzy buddies in the garden hanging out in the summer squash flowers. I wanted to show you how large the flower itself was but by mid-afternoon they were having a hard time with the heat. So a bee shot it is! I’ve also thought about buying native/mason bees for fun after reading this post. (Above photo is normal bee I think).

This garden ornament is from Terrain (no longer available) and I decided against having anything climb up it as I needed the sprinklers to be secured to water my entire 4 feet x 8 feed x 20 inch raised garden bed.

The sunflowers have finally sprouted and faced the morning sun which is really adorable. Did you know the sunflowers follow the sun? They trace the pattern of the sun and return facing east, known as a phototropic movement. Mine only move a little, just barely, I’m not sure why but I’ll let you know when the other sunflowers bloom.

Back to the little fuzz ball that helps pollinate so my squash can start growing.

This was a second guy further in behind the gigantic squash leaves. I used a 100mm F/2.8 macro. Finally the tomatoes are showing they will soon be ready and our summer salads will have pops of color.

These guys came from seeds, a gift from Melayne when she visited Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. I need to revisit because I think I’d appreciate it more now than I did when I was in junior high.

I love how the way you position yourself can give you a completely different image.

I cheated and bought this fully grown artichoke from Whitfill nursery. When we added a new garden bed it was too late to start anything from seeds and artichoke is so dramatic when you transplant it – the leaves collapse as if it’s dead and you have to overwater it to bring it back to life over a course of a few days.

After last year’s season of growing artichokes I’ve concluded I’d prefer them as a flower and I’ll buy my artichokes from the grocery.

The citrus trees are doing alright, I count the little buds to see how many I can expect. Here’s a shot of the pink lemon tree (not a myth!) so pretty.

Temperatures this week have been mild, around the mid 80s and absolutely beautiful. It’s been wonderful to be able to extend outdoor activities this far into the year.