Hello, and just in case you are wondering what I'm going to tackle next - it's getting my belated May competitions up and running.
A couple of weeks ago, I walked round my garden and decided that "orange" would be the colour I would concentrate on this month. Just in case you are a new "follower" of My Blog (is that the right term?), I collect suitable images of the plants that the bumblebees are currently visiting as they search for nectar and pollen. For some years now, I have succeeded in having something blooming every day of the year - even if the weather is challenging.
I've just come in from my first outdoor task of the day, which was to refill the fat ball ring that hangs under the apple tree, and to stock up the supply of suet on the lawn, which is the feeding area used by the larger avian species who favour ground feeding. Several years ago CJ Wildlife invited me to become "affiliated" to them, as I was purchasing their products regularly, and they occasionally provided items for me to try. At first I used the guard over over the mesh ground feeding table (item #93035), which was designed to allow blackbirds and robins to feed protected from my larger regular visitors such as pheasants, magpies, crows and pigeons, plus the jackdaws who regular nest in the owl box on the wall of the adjacent pumping station. But now, there seems to be such a wonderful tolerant atmosphere in my little patch that I just tip the chopped-up suet onto the tray. I don't even have to handle the fat because my local butcher saves his waste suet, puts it through his mincer, and gives it to me once a week in a large plastic bag - he even has it delivered to me now as I am currently "self-isolated".
Can you name these flowers? They are one of the first blooms to catch my attention when I leave my car and walk towards the door to the Cottage that is opposite to the Courtyard Garden.
This was one of the first plants that I recall as my parents had them planted either side of the brick path that led, in a curve down, our back garden. Clue: I was a reluctant "dead-header" of these cheerful, cheap flowers because my hands would smell at the end of the task.
If you would like to try and win a small prize, that would be delivered to you from a Lincolnshire producer, please send your answer to me by the end of May, using my email address: barbara@woodhallspa.com