Watering Honey Bees on a green roof in London
Last summer there were two hives on the green roof at Evershed’s. A third has been in place for a week or so and is awaiting some bees to take up residence. Green roofs are relatively harsh places....
View ArticleThe Poppy and the bumblebees – tales of the Railway Bank
The bumblebee appeared to have a strange growth on it’s black legs – a sort of brown black ‘gall’. I wondered whether this was some disease that affected bumblebees. I sent out an image on face book...
View ArticleVeronica by the Ravensbourne in Lewisham
On Sunday we took a walk along the Ravensbourne in Ladywell, Lewisham. Next week the southern section of the Ladywell Park will be launched. I want to go and see what was just mud, mud, and mess the...
View ArticleBumblebees feeding on a French Green Roof
The green roofs on the WWF HQ in Paris are mainly extensive. However there is a small food growing, urban farm on one of the roofs. A large herb plants attracted bumblebees and Honey bees. An...
View ArticleGreen roof and Bees – the Flight of the Bumblebee – Paris
Yesterday’s post on bumblebees on a Paris green roof had only photographs of the feeding bees. I knocked up a video yesterday. What was also interesting yesterday was the publication of research that...
View ArticleTales of the Railway Bank – June
The summer is on us and the railway bank at Greenwich Station is now tall grass. The Viper’s bugloss Echium vulgare is still in flower, standing tall above the waving grass heads. Much of the Hairy...
View ArticleSolitary Bees – a garden colony in Conyer, Kent
It was just a garden bank besides the road. There was no hedge, just a tumbling sandy soil bank. And the Solitary bees had amassed to nest and breed. There was a girl playing in the garden....
View ArticleBoar’s throat thistle – old brick works Kent
The golden heads of the Boar’s throat crowned the poor soils of the brick works north of Conyer. The thistle is a much maligned plant yet their flowers are a bonus for pollinators and their grey seeds...
View ArticleIn Praise of Ragwort – a bumblebee fest
Ragwort – perhaps it’s name is partly responsible – is a much maligned plant. I was once contacted by a manager of a building asking whether he should remove the plant from a green roof. He was...
View ArticleEarly Spring Butterflies
Life got a whole lot better today. My lunchtime walk was enriched by three species of butterflies on what I call the butterfly bank. A pair of Commas chased amongst the emerging bugloss and a Peacock...
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