Tag: gardening
April flowers
The days are lengthening and queen bumblebees are stirring from hibernation. Here in Warwickshire, we have seen winter-active Buff-tailed Bumblebees for much of the winter, but the first emerging queen bumblebee we observed was a Tree Bumblebee about 4 weeks ago. This … Continue reading
Winter-active bumblebees
Most bumblebee activity has now ceased for the year, with just the new queens waiting in hibernation, ready to start colonies in spring. However, in milder regions and urban areas, you may notice bumblebees feeding on winter-flowering plants. Over … Continue reading
Steven’s blog – Citizen science
In recent years, a growing number of projects and organisations have been engaging members of the public in research as ‘citizen scientists’. This often takes the form of activities such as, conducting experiments, completing surveys, or in the case of … Continue reading
Foliar feed trial results
This summer, we have been working in partnership with Hozelock to find out whether foliar feeding can increase your container plants’ provision for bees, by improving plant health and flowering, as well as the quantity and quality of pollen and … Continue reading
Dahlia trial results
In spring we sent out packets of seed to citizen scientists around the country, to explore the potential of ‘Mignon Series’ dahlias as insect friendly bedding plants and find out if bumblebees had a colour preference. Participants were asked to … Continue reading
Steven’s Blog – Autumn bumblebees and findings from our app so far
Well, it’s already mid-September, which means that the bulk of this year’s records have come in and we are able to see some of the emerging patterns (though more detailed number-crunching will take place over the winter). There is very … Continue reading
Bee-friendly container plant trials
This summer, the Blooms for Bees project and our partners at The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are investigating the use of Chaenostoma (also known as bacopa or sutera) and bird’s foot trefoil as bee-friendly container plants. Many traditional bedding and container plants … Continue reading
Hannah’s blog – using the Blooms for Bees app
One of my jobs this summer is to carry out timed observations of our bee-friendly bedding plant trials using the Blooms for Bees app. Initial bumblebee activity on the three colours of Dahlia ‘Mignon’ has not yet been as buzzy … Continue reading
Introducing Hannah, our intern
I’m Hannah Murphy, and I have just completed my first year as a Biological and Forensic Sciences student at Coventry University. Over the summer, I will be working as an intern on the Blooms for Bees project’s bedding plant trials … Continue reading
Our latest publication
In 2013 we carried out a small study with 38 Garden Organic members, to explore the potential of a public survey to generate novel data on bumblebee foraging in gardens and allotments. The results of this study are now available … Continue reading
Making liquid feeds
This summer, we are working with Hozelock to explore whether foliar feeding container grown plants can increase flowering, and the provision of nectar and pollen for bees. For this trial, we are feeding containerised nasturtiums with comfrey and seaweed feeds. … Continue reading
Using foliar feeds
Containers are a popular and versatile way to grow flowers in gardens, but as the nutrients in growing media start to run out after around six weeks, additional feeding is required to produce healthy plants with abundant flowers. There are several … Continue reading