It usually starts in February.
The bees start sneaking into my posts.
By April things are hotting up.
They appear on Forget-me-nots.
I show the solitary bees pollinating our blackcurrants.
The bees are getting bigger.
The more flowers that appear the more bees that arrive.
Summer brings even more bees.
The geraniums in my blog are accompanied by bumble bees.
The Chicory flower is accompanied by a colourful solitary bee.
In August the bees are in the Hollyhocks.
In the dahlias…
For a gardening blog I fear there maybe a bit too many bees.
I can’t help it they are too appealing (c’est plus fort que moi!)
I do, however, want to learn and understand more about solitary bees and so I have decided to separate (to some extent) my passion for the bees from the garden. I have started a new blog Bees in a French Garden . This is a more serious blog to find out if there is anyone else out there interested in solitary bees. It would be nice to find people to exchange ideas with as has happened with my garden blog. I have learnt so much following some great gardening blogs so I am hoping my bee blog will be rewarding too.
My French Garden Blog will continue as the garden changes through the seasons incorporating the advice and help from friends and bloggers.
a french garden 
Well this played right to my own growing passion for bees. I am off to follow your new blog immediately. You might like to know that my shot of the Halictus bee has just been short listed in Interrnational Garden Photographer of the Year. So maybe there are others out there who share our passion. 😉
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Congratulations on being short-listed! Good luck for the finals, I think insects are often under represented in photography. You are very well placed for seeing lots of bees in Surrey. I really recommend Bees of Surrey by David W. Baldock, Amazon is out of stock but this is where I got my copy http://www.nhbs.com/bees_of_surrey_tefno_157965.html.
The other blog I recommend is Ed Phillips. He is a great photographer and has even gone photographing with Steven Falk (swoon ah.)
http://www.edphillipswildlife.com/news.html.
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I have Bees of Surrey – bought because of you! There is also a Wasps of a Surrey but I haven’t managed to source one yet. I am going to look at that blog right now.
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Thank you for following my bee blog as the bees in southern England are often here too. I would be very grateful for any comments and help with IDs
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Amelia, I’ll definately be “hovering” in the “wings” of that one…
and I’ll bet that Susan “buzzes” by, too!!
Love the rather squat Anthophora “plumpies” [slight anagram] arriving at the Cerinthe flower… and the close-up of the male in the wall…
it is going to be a fun and educational blog to follow!!
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I do hope you and Susan have time to look at the blog and give your words of wisdom. I love your plumpies! They are plump little bees which adds to their charm.
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Those photos are perfect on a grey November night! Good luck with the new blog – hope you find lots of new contacts.
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Thank you. It’s nice to think good wishes are winging their way all the way from Germany 🙂
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You certainly have beautiful flowers in the garden! I like the bee blog idea. I think you’ll find, after a while, that people are using it as they would an insect guide to help identify their bees. They do that on my blog with plants even though I tell them to beware.
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Gosh – I had never thought of that! You are right. I have explained I’m only learning but a lot of people just look at the pictures and don’t read the text. I just hope I find some people, preferably local, who want to join in and help with the IDs together.
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Bugguide.net has been very helpful to me. There are expert volunteers there who really know their stuff.
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I have seen great photographs on Bugguide and I can imagine it would be a fantastic resource for you but it concentrates on the United States and Canada. The insects and bees that I find here are often different. Your bumble bees are very cute but different from ours, for example.
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Your bee blog is beautiful already. I hope we will still see some bees on this blog 🙂
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I’m sure a few will find their way in but now at least I can vent my enthusiasm elsewhere.
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I have always liked bees but I didn’t know how intriguing and fascinating they truly are until I read about them in your blog.
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I had always loved bumble bees but I had never even noticed the other solitary bees until I came hear. I’m glad the blog helped with the bees PR.
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It did. I can’t help thinking that someone, somewhere, will find your observations priceless; a university research department, an agricultural research station somewhere in the area? These tiny, day to day micro studies are surely invaluable to our understanding of bees.
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cute furry guy
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It’s the furry ones I specially can’t resist.
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A lovely reminder of days filled with bees. I have begun following your new blog, you can never write too much about bees from my point of view 🙂
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I think we are rather biased where bees are concerned 🙂
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I’ll follow both your blogs because I would want to miss out on hearing about your visitors, as my knowledge is very limited I may not leave comments every time as I do here!
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That would be great! Sometimes it’s just that little something that reminds you of what you have seen or read and can prove a very valuable comment or information.:)
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love the photos! Am now following the other blog too. 🙂
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Thanks for the follow. I take it that you are another softy for the bees :). As the posts continue please feel free to comment if you come across any information on solitary bees or any of your own observations.
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Good luck with you new blog, Amelia. I just struggle to find the time to write one – let alone my second. D
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Thank you. I am hoping it becomes a conduit for me learning more about the bees. I have certainly learnt a lot about gardening from following the gardening blogs.
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Ooh I’d love to get the Bees of Surrey book. I’ll have to save up my pocket money! 😀 good luck with the new blog Amelia!
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It would be the perfect book for you. It seems you are sited in an excellent spot doe bee watching.
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Fantastic photos!
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Thank you. We are working hard in the garden at the moment taking down trees and branches to reduce shade on the flowers so that we can have even more flowers for the bees next year.
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Bees everywere, how lovely.
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That’s the way I like the garden – in summer with bees everywhere.
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