:: curcurbita pepo ::

This Spring we engaged an apiarist to set hives in our garden, which we are leasing.  She does all the hardwork and we get to witness the small miracles that are bees, enjoy better polination and hopefully some honey, once it is that time.

Our front yard was a mossy, damp, compacted rectangle of grass, surrounded by neglected 'easy-care' shrubs and some old roses.

Gradually, we have been turning it into a mixed mostly edible, perennial garden - my kind of easy-care.

One of the fun things about the way we make compost is that we do end up with a lucky dip of random seedlings popping up when we make our compost-assisted plantings.

Easily the most-crazy prize winner are the pumpkins which have erupted all over the front yard, with bright golden flowers just too tempting for the poor bees, who inevitably fly low, completely covered in fluffy yellow pollen.

:: allium ::

 Upon Phoebe's request we spent a happy hour or so in her school garden plot this afternoon, weeding, refreshing, replanting and generally enjoying being in a lovely place where small hands have toiled to create a hidden haven.

 The onions in someone's plot were flowering these spectacular blooms and the bees and bumblebees were all over them! 

In the process of looking up the latin/botanical name of the flowers I find interesting facts and new words - it is quite fun.  Today I discovered that the allium is a genus of 'monocotyledonous' flowering plants including leek, garlic, chives, onion, shallots, etc. Whew - that was a long word.

I also learned that while 'allium' is the Latin word for garlic, that the Greek word 'aleo' (to avoid) also has something to do with the etymology - as in avoidance of the smell of garlic. Interesting.