Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the
Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
If i could save time in a bottle, i might be tempted to shave a month off the dog days of summer and make Spring last twice as long. I love this time of year, when the sun conducts its daily symphony of restoration and rebirth. Here in my Pacific Northwest garden, there's new life at every turn. This re-awakening is especially evident within the wooden walls of a beehive. Shall we crack open the lid and have a look inside?
There was a time when many a backyard garden had a beehive on the premises. One of the earliest English garden books, "New Orchard and Garden," written by William Lawson in 1618, stated, "There remaineth one necessary thing ... which is Bees, well ordered."
The Queen, surrounded by her dutiful attendants …
A comb from her "well ordered" brood nest (those covered cells are developing worker bees) …
Another comb consists of larger cells with rounded caps — all developing drone bees (the male bees). You can see uncapped larvae in some of the cells as well …
Still a little honey left from last season …
And the foragers have been gathering new pollen and nectar to make bee bread for their new babies …
Before closing up the hive, we insulated it with fresh cedar shavings since it still gets pretty frosty overnight …
Will this be the year that we actually harvest a bit of honey from those hives? As my father used to say, "We'll see!" Life can be unpredictable in the apiary …
Elsewhere in the garden, the Pieris is dripping with blooms …
The clematis is a glorious tangle …
Fruit trees are flowering …
Or are just beginning to flower …
Ladybugs are already hard at work …
And the emerging foliage on this Perottia seems to be applauding the arrival of the sun …
What's going on in your gardens?
PS: I'll be busy pollinating my taxes this weekend, so my response to comments may be sporadic. If i miss you, have a great weekend everyone!