We have strong gusty winds here in the Wellington Region at the moment. Our white wisteria blooms every November and only lasts a couple of weeks due to the spring winds. When the sun shines, you can see the bumblebees collecting pollen in the wind. They pack it onto their back legs and move from flower to flower.
I have been told that not all pollen is the same colour, today I actually saw evidence of this. The wisteria flowers had bumble bees collecting white/grey pollen. Our bulbine flowers produced bright yellow pollen as can clearly be seen on the images above and below. What I didn’t see was a bumblebee with both white and yellow pollen. I wonder if there is a reason for that?
The bulbine plant has taken over the driest of my gardens and seems to thrive on neglect. The bees and bumblebees love it so that makes it a perfect fit for our garden. I am always on the look out for plants that will bring nature to our home as well as providing me with photographic opportunities year round.
The bulbine flower are tall and sturdy making it easy for the bumble bees to collect their pollen in the wind. Where the wisteria makes the entire job that much harder for the bumblebees, it sways like a curtain even in light winds. I didn’t spend a lot of time with the bumblebees today as it was even too windy for me. I hope you enjoy my bumblebee friends. The lavender flowers are just starting to open up, so hopefully I will get some bees on them next.
