Love, Joy and Peas: bee

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Friday, October 28, 2016

Autumn Asters, Honey Bee and Capitol Columns at US National Arboretum

Happy floral Friday! Asters are one of the joys of autumn. I think this honey bee would agree.

This week at the U.S. National Arboretum the purple autumn asters are in full bloom.

The area by the capitol columns is a great place to view them.

The asters contrast nicely with the autumn foliage of nearby plants.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you this autumn and always!

Related posts:
Autumn bonsai tree foliage: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/10/autumn-bonsai-flowers-and-chrysanthemum.html
2013 Autumn bonsai foliage: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/autumn-bonsai-exhibit-at-us-national.html
Fall foliage at USNA: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/fall-foliage-at-us-national-arboretum.html

Friday, September 2, 2016

Washington Youth Garden Fun and Unique Features

Happy floral Friday! It's been four years since I featured the Washington Youth Garden on my blog so I thought today would be a great day to share some of its unique and fun features. I love the big hand-painted sign that greets visitors to the garden (and there are some flowers in it - can you find them?). One of the rules in the garden is that you must stay on the paths so please forgive some crooked/odd angle photos. I did the best I could while obeying the rules.

Once you enter the chain link fence area you're greeted by this whimsical sign for the Sensory Garden. I love that they have many mini gardens within the main area. The sensory garden has lots of neat flowers and herbs to experience.

This fun giant bird statue is one of my favorite features of the Washington Youth Garden. They move it around from time to time but today it was near the center of the main garden.

They have some lovely signs explaining gardening basics and events throughout the growing season. The Washington Youth Garden is located within the National Arboretum so I imagine you could contact the Arboretum for dates and times of the events. I did see a flyer once at the visitor's center but rarely see any advertisements for this wonderful garden.

I'm not sure why this program wouldn't let me put text between the two photos above but it wouldn't so I'll just explain both here. The top features the Beekeeping area within the Washington Youth Garden. I didn't enter the area because I didn't want to disturb the bees. I imagine that's an area best explored with a staff member. The staff members I saw were busy watering and weeding so I'll save that adventure for another day.

I love their unique garden bed in a real bed frame and I think it's fun that they painted the frame purple so it stands out more. They have herbs and flowers planted in the bed and it spills over on either side like a generous comforter.

These pretty fuchsia colored flowers are the same kind in the top left corner of the garden bed photo.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed my mini photo tour of the Washington Youth Garden! May God bless their staff, the young gardeners and YOU!

Related posts:
2012 Washington Youth Garden: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/fun-ideas-from-childrens-garden-at-us.html
Bright summer flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/sunrise-zinnia-pink-rose-sunrise-dahlia.html
Mary's amazing garden: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/05/marys-amazing-garden-retreat.html

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Sunflowers and Bees at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area

Happy wild Wednesday! I hope you enjoy my bee and sunflower photos from McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area. Today was my second ever visit but I hope to return again.

I thought this bee in flight over the sunflower field was neat.

Some people bring ladders, chairs and stools but I just did the best I could with what God gave me.

It really is amazing to see so many sunflowers with bees buzzing about happily.

I feel blessed to have been able to enjoy such a beautiful experience. God is good!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
Battling bees and sunflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/bees-fighting-over-sunflower-photo.html
Teddy bear sunflower: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/teddy-bear-sunflower-black-eyed-susan.html
Sunflower and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/sunflower-day-lilies-vinca-and-mystery.html

Friday, February 26, 2016

First Flowers of Spring 2016!

Happy floral Friday! It's exciting to see the first signs of spring, even though it's still winter here in Maryland. These pretty yellow flowers were popping up through fallen leaves in the woods.

I think these are called snowdrops. I've only ever seen them facing downward (like the two on the left) so seeing one facing upward was an extra treat.

These pale lavendar crocuses were sprouting up in tiny bunches here and there too.

It was great to see a honeybee feasting on the fresh flowers.

These two yellow flowers haven't managed to throw off the top leaf yet but I thought it looked like a cozy flower cave. We've got more cold coming before it's truly spring but it's nice to see flowers already blooming in nature.

I hope, wherever you are, that you are safe and warm. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
First flowers of spring 2015: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/03/first-flowers-of-spring-and-floral.html
Happy spring poem: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/happy-spring-haiku-poems-and-12.html
Daffodils and pansies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/daffodil-pansy-and-cyclamen-flower.html

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Pretty Butterflies and Fuzzy Bee for Wild Wednesday

Happy wild Wednesday! I hope these butterfly and bee photos from last summer in my Maryland garden brighten your day.

The giant zinnias were the star of the garden last summer. Bees, butterflies and small birds flocked to them and made me very happy.

The butterfly bushes also attracted a lot of insect wildlife.

It was great to be able to see butterflies almost every time I walked in the garden and I'm already looking forward to next summer's adventures in gardening and wildlife.

May God bless you this winter and always!

Related posts:
Butterflies & bees on purple coneflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/butterflies-and-bees-love-purple.html
Brian Dering's Aruba wildlife photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/wildlife-in-aruba-photos-by-guest.html
Wild raccoon photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/wild-raccoon-in-national-arboretum.html

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Bees and Butterflies on Butterfly Bushes

Happy wild Wednesday! Butterfly bushes really do attract butterflies (and bees too).

The butterflies and bees don't seem to be picky about the flower color.

Or whether the flowers are in sun or shade.

But they do seem to have a preference for the newer blooms.

Maybe the nectar is sweeter on the younger flowers? I don't know. But I love seeing the bushes filled with bees and butterflies. There was also a monarch butterfly on the bushes but it was too fast and skittish for me to capture with my camera.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and our dwindling bee and butterfly populations!

Related posts:
Cute critters on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/cute-critters-on-flowers.html
Brookside butterflies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/08/brookside-gardens-wings-of-fancy.html
Butterfly blessings: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/01/happy-new-year-blessings-butterflies.html

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Butterflies, Honeybees and Moths Love Agastache Flowers

Happy wild Wednesday! I'm really thrilled with the way the agastache (also known as hyssop) flowers are attracting a nice range of insect wildlife. We put in five plants this spring and I suspect we'll add more next year.

I'm especially happy to see honeybees on the agastache. We get lots of bees but honeybees seem to be in the minority.

If you look closely you can see at least three skipper moths on this hyssop plant.

While not technically a good picture, I like that the moth is coming in for a landing while a honeybee is enjoying another flower. These insects know how to share.

Thank you for visiting. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Big bees: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Dogs and bees: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/dogs-and-bees-at-us-national-arboretum.html
Bees and flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/neat-flowers-bees-and-sun-effects.html

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Butterflies and Bees Love Purple Coneflowers

Happy wild Wednesday! I took this week's photos in my own garden. What a blessing it is to enjoy so many flowers and so much cute insect wildlife.

The purple coneflowers (also known as echinacea) seem to be most popular with the bees and butterflies this year, with the giant zinnias a close second.

We must have some undesirable insect eating at the purple coneflower petals but I think they're still pretty, even with partially chewed parts.

Although it's not technically a good photo, I liked the fact that there were two moths on echinacea flower heads in the image above.

As you can see, the purple coneflowers bloom at different heights. Although we've put in a wide variety of coneflowers, the old fashioned purples seem to thrive the best in our Maryland soil.

Hope you enjoyed this week's wildlife photos. Which did you like best? Whatever you prefer, I thank you for visiting and pray that God will bless you!

Related posts:
Cute bugs on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/cute-critters-on-flowers.html
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Giant pink zinnia and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html

Friday, June 26, 2015

Sunflower, Day Lilies, Vinca and Mystery Flowers

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Above is our first sunflower of the year. Bees love sunflowers and I love them both.

Our double bloom orange day lilies started opening this week too.

As did my favorite bicolor day lilies, the El Dorado style. We originally had six of these pretty plants but are down to three (I think this was mostly because of the backhoe situation).

The vincas have been blooming since we planted them but this is the first decent photo.

And these tiny but pretty yellow flowers started blooming this week too. My dear friend Missy gave me the original plants and they spread a bit wider each year. Neither of us knows what the plant is but I think Missy said it's an herb of some kind. If you know what it is, please share.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you this summer and always!

Which is your favorite flower/photo from this week's post? What is blooming in your area?

Related posts:
Black eyed susans, sunflowers and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/teddy-bear-sunflower-black-eyed-susan.html
Sunflowers and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sunflowers-dahlias-marigolds-verbena.html
Bees and sunflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/bees-fighting-over-sunflower-photo.html

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Cute Critters on Flowers

Happy wild Wednesday! Here are the critter on flower photos I promised last Friday. We've planted several specialty echinacea (also known as coneflower) varieties but this yellow is the only one besides the old fashioned purple that survived our last few frigid winters. I was really happy to see the cheery yellow flowers and the bees were too.

Of course, the old fashioned echinacea are still a big draw. Bees and butterflies usually flock to them. This year we've had a few moths but so far, only one butterfly that I've noticed. I did plant some milkweed for the monarchs a couple years ago but it didn't survive the winter. If we stay here through another spring then next year I hope to plant some more milkweed and some butterfly weed to help these beautiful creatures survive.

My husband pointed out this pretty green dragonfly resting on the green daylily leaves. He has a good eye for noticing seemingly hidden creatures.

This bug (a beetle of some kind?) surprised me. I was taking a photo of the dark purple butterfly bush flower and it popped right over from the back side.

Here's a macro (super close up) shot of that same green dragonfly from above. It's amazing the creatures you can find in your own back yard.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Monarch butterfly: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/monarch-butterfly-on-pretty.html
Dragonfly and butterflies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/dragonfly-and-butterflies-on-flowers-at.html
Butterfly preserve critters: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/wildlife-at-glendening-preserves.html