The in-laws have been brilliant in embracing the wildflower thing, although like many they're still a bit confused about whose wildflowers they're planting. There's absolutely nothing wrong with California poppies (and the gorgeous
Bombus Lapidarius queen I was watching this afternoon clearly loves them) but - guess what - they are actually Californian. They'll look great in the "wildflower area" they're establishing and will evidently provide a nice nectar hit for pollinators, but they look mighty peculiar to my eye surrounded by our own wildflowers. You can find them in all sorts of commercially available "wildflower" seed mixes, which adds to my irritation.
By way of contrast our humble wild garlic, or Ramsons, has much subtler charms unless you are a
B. Pratorum worker. I've potted some Ramsons up for the understorey of a couple of copse areas I'm planning. These are two of our early bumblebees, by the way - have you seen them yet this year?
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The in-laws have been brilliant in embracing the wildflower thing, although like many they're still a bit confused about whose wildflowers they're planting. There's absolutely nothing wrong with California poppies (and the gorgeous Bombus Lapidarius queen I was watching this afternoon clearly loves them) but - guess what - they are actually Californian. They'll look great in the "wildflower area" they're establishing and will evidently provide a nice nectar hit for pollinators, but they look mighty peculiar to my eye surrounded by our own wildflowers. You can find them in all sorts of commercially available "wildflower" seed mixes, which adds to my irritation.