BACK DOWN TO EARTH!!

Well, after all the excitement of the SUFFOLK SHOW - life at Crown Nursery has just about returned to normal. All the show plants are back in their correct places. The nursery is back in it's normal routine. The girls are busy working on the shrub area - taking cuttings of many of the items required for the autumn season. Potting on of the younger trees continues apace - as does the ongoing care of the new grafts. Many of the plants on the specimen area are being potted on - when a plant is held in a pot for a number of years, it does tend to get somewhat restricted - and the constant irrigation leaches out nutrients very fast - so both granular and liquid feeding is also taking place on the nursery at the moment.

Many of us at the nursery have been concerned at the plight of our bee population. A worldwide infestation of mites, and constant damp springs and summers have not helped these little chaps - and they are an essential item for pollination - particularly of food crops. We can help, as gardeners by planting as many of their favourite food items as possible. The companion planting beds on the FRUIT SALES AREA contain many items that are ideal for their food source. Bees particularly bumbles, favour blue flowers - and the catmint NEPETA 'WALKER'S LOW' and 'SIX HILS GIANT' are particularly good. - the lovely blue flower shown in the photo top left. There is one bed of pure catmint - and I counted 37 bumble bees on the flowers one day last week - they just dance and flit from flower to flower. Many of the herbs - such as Thyme, Sage and Oregano have flowers that are rich in nectar - so you can help the bees and yourself by planting those!!

On the shrub front - they are particularly fond of Cotoneaster - these have incredibly small flowers, but are very rich in nectar - and they appear over a lengthy period. In my own garden I have a large plant of COTONEASTER SIMONSII which last night, had 49 bees on it - that is no exaggeration - just a constant hum!! And of course, the big bonus is that all that buzzing will lead to a bumper crop of berries in the autumn for the birds - a DOUBLE WHAMMY!! The gorgeous HONEYSUCKLES are also a treat - they just love the deep-throated flowers - and the photo below just shows why!! ( This one is LONICERA JAPONICA 'HALL'S PROLIFIC') And if you have ever watched a bee in a bed of LAVENDER, then you just know that they are enjoying themselves!!

For the honey bees, which are actually in a worse position than the bumbles, their requirements are similar - although they seem to favour flatter flowers - in my own garden again - CALLISTEMON PALLIDUS - a yellow Australian Bottlebrush shrub is in full flower - and last night the honey bees were all over it. In early spring, they adore the catkins of pussy willows, and in late summer, they thrive on the many varieties of BUDDLEIA - the so-called BUTTERFLY BUSH. Finally for their autumn treat, they are especially fond of IVY - so it is not always wise to remove it from all your trees and fences.

We must look after our flying friends - without them the world would be very different. Here at Crown Nursery, we are certainly trying to do our bit - what are you doing in your plot??

Until next time,

RICHARD