This pot has lain since May of 2014 just to satisfy my curiosity. I had noticed daffodils appearing in the garden where I thought they had not been planted but at the same time I doubted whether they would self-seed.
I have read that bees are not attracted to daffodils but that will depend on the bees, the availability of other flowers and of course the variety of daffodil.
These pictures were taken in March of 2013, before we started keeping honey bees so I cannot answer for their tastes in nectar or pollen.
I do find that some of the daffodils go to seed so in May of 2014 I decided to plant some of the seeds.
In addition, the bumble bees are attracted to the tulips although some of them make very inelegant exits from inside the tulips, like this red tailed queen bumble bee. So I also had seeds of a pretty pink tulip to sow with the daffodils.
Just to make up a threesome, I had noticed that the snakeskin fritillaria (Fritillaria meleagris) had masses of seeds so their seeds went in the pot too.
The fritillaria had been sown for the first time in the autumn of 2013 and flowered abundantly the following spring. That was the last time I saw them. I am not sure whether our hot, dry summers killed off the young plants or whether I had not loved them enough while they were flowering.
The seeds in my pot from 2014 had produced green leaves last year but I felt they would need to be planted out this year. So with a heave I upturned the pot to see what was happening.
You must have faith in me here, as the photo is not clear, but there were masses of fritillaria bulblets (top left), six long, thin but very well rooted tulip bulbs (eight seeds had been planted originally) and lots of little daffodil bulblets.
I don’t like planting bulbs but here I was now with lots of little fritillaria bulblets (that I am not particularly keen on) but now I feel totally obliged to give them at least a chance to grow in with the little daffodil bulbs in a patch at the bottom of the garden.
The six pink tulip bulbs have received a preferential treatment and been replaced with new soil in the pot.
So why do I do it? Just to be sure? It is so much easier to pick up a bag of bulbs all ready to go.
a french garden 