UC Blogs
Are Bees Finding the 'Zen' in Zinnias?
Eye-catching zinnias grace the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, the half-acre bee friendly garden planted in the fall of 2009 next to the Harry...
Honey bee nectaring on a zinnia in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee foraging on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Circling a zinnia blossom, a honey bee seeks food for her colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fontarronco-A Garden in Tuscany
The gardens at Fontarronco, near Arezzo, are typically Italian. Among the 1200 acres, there are peach orchards, olive groves and vineyards. The property and villa have been there since the 18th century and owned by the Illuminati family. Princess Ruffo designed the gardens around the villa. Being English with English tastes and knowledge of English gardens, her garden in Tuscany remains delightfully Italian.
The Mediterranean weather in Italy is similar to weather in Northern California. The summers are hot and the need for adequate garden irrigation is critical. The Princess’s aim was to grow vegetables for the table, flowers to decorate the villa, and to devise shaded sitting areas and walkways where her guests could rest and escape the heat.
Princess Ruffo was a well-known agriculturist, who had been awarded the ‘Medaglio d’ Oro’ by the Italian government for her successful farming methods. On the farm she raised a rare kind of cattle, called Razza chianina, a breed which was known to the Romans 2,000 years ago. Their white hides are like satin upholstery and their black eyes have long sweeping eyelashes. They help with the villa gardens by producing the richest fertilizer which in turn supports the thin, poor soil found in Tuscany.
In summer, the gardens at Fontarronco are full of brilliant color. Dahlias, chrysanthemums, lavenders, rosemary and zinnias show every dimension of color along with roses that fill the air with heavy fragrance. Arbors provide shade for the sitting areas and walkways. It was felt that any garden designer would be a success if they created a simple, effective garden site with colorful flowers, raised beds of vegetables, containers of citrus and a cool place to rest and enjoy the views. Not much different than how we plan and design our gardens in Solano County.
A view of the gardens. (photo by Sharon Rico)
Diggin' the Bees in Bodega
They can fool you. Just like replica designer bags, shoes and sunglasses meant to look like the real thing (think Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo...
Female digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, heads for her nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Packing pollen, a female digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, crawls into her nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey),
Outline of sand cliff with female digger bee heading home. Note the turrets these bees build. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, looks less like a bumble bee than the female. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Limonium
One of my favorite plants is Limonium, aka statice or sea lavender. It has solved a problem area in my front yard.
Previously, The edge of the front lawn sloped down with a drop of about 12 or so inches from the cement steps up to the front of the house. The edge of the grass showed the roots of the turf and was frequently "burned" by the edge trimmer or lawn mower. This space was like a "no man's land" with the bare edge of concrete offering anything but curb appeal.
This part of the garden receives full exposure to the wind and sun. I choose to try some statice as a border alongside this walkway. I have seen this hardy plant survive and even thrive in similar conditions, no doubt the common name "sea lavender" was earned by the many gardens it has inhabited in the many gardens with a marine influence.
The statice has been in place now about five years. Snails are attracted by the leaves but the plants are so vigorous the damage is minimal. I trim the flower stalks occasionally when they fade. Soon there after new shoots will appear to take their place. My garden reference books say the "perezii" variety will bloom over the long summer but my experience is an almost continuous bloom through out the year. The flower clusters can grow up to 3 feet across and consist of a rich purple calyx with a tiny white corolla. The blooms dry very easily by hanging upside down until dry but I find they can be pretty messy. Since these plants bloom continuously, I just cut the fresh stalks when needed. Very little water is needed for these established plants and I do not add any fertilizer at all.
Enjoy this very giving plant in your garden with very little effort on your part.
Sea lavender. (photo by Trisha Rose)
Pollen Party
Makes sense that the sunflower bee (Svastra spp.) forages on the genus Cosmos. Cosmos (also the common name) is a member of the sunflower...
Sunflower bee (Svastra spp.) foraging on cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of pollen on a sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)