End of season plant sale. Last chance to buy this year. Rosybee.com

Shield bug on rudbeckia (about the best colour left in our parched garden)

The buzziest plant in the garden this morning is origanum compacta. Impervious to drought apparently! 4 butterflies and 3 bumblebees in a 30cm circle.

Bumblebees on purple loosestrife overnight

The eryngium giganteums have done well this year and look fab with the echinacea. As self-seeders this is their composition.

The soldier beetles seem to love the eryngium plenum this year.

We have a stall at Whichford pottery in the north Cotswolds tomorrow supporting a talk by Kate Bradbury. Come and say ‘hi’ if you are in the area. www.whichfordpottery

Lavender‘eidelweis’ busy with buff-tails this afternoon. Our longest-flowering lavender

Tiny bee on thrift (lasioglossum on Armenia maratima)

www.rosybee.com/plants/helia.... New to our range. Tall perennial sunflower.

This is what happens when non-native managed pollinators share resources with our wild native pollinators. I’m fed up with those that are #BeeWashing

I hadn’t noticed before that verbascum nigrum has bright orange pollen. These plants only have nectar first thing in the morning but they were busy this morning.

Green-veined white on geranium

Hoverfly on campanula glomerata

Lots of six-spot burnet moths in the meadow yesterday

Some ideas on what flowers to grow to help bees cope with hot weather from @The_Buzz_Club "Bees & Heatwaves" citizen science project, download report from link below: www.thebuzzclub.uk/bees-heatwaves @yanetsepulveda

This is how we have our tea-breaks at Rosybee

The long-horn bees are back in our meadow. Hurrah! I was really worried that last years wet spring might have scuppered their mating chances but all is well. Birdsfoot trefoil- so valuable.

time to repost this!

First ‘cuckoo’ bumblebee I’ve seen this year.

www.rosybee.com/plants/borage reduced before they get too big - £7 for 6

The hawthorn in our Monnow Valley is magnificent this year.

Our comfrey is this beautiful purple colour. Possibly Russian comfrey. Does anyone know? Anyway, buzzing away today.

Plant bargains: we have a few things reduced as they are getting too big for their pots. Primroses need to go while still in flower £11 for 6. www.rosybee.com/plants

We missed yesterdays rain and I noticed our soil is beginning to crack as if it was July! Please please rain.

This is our orchard in full bloom. Many of the trees are around 100 years old but have planted some new ones too. Buzzing with pollinators today so hopefully good for fruit.

The wildflowers around our site are glorious now. So lucky to have this on the doorstep

We still have a cold wind here and the main pollinators that seem to be braving it are the bee-flies.

We also added hoverflies and butterflies/moths to make it more pollinators rather than bees. @katebradbury.bsky.social @davegoulson.bsky.social @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social @bbka.org.uk @cathhodsman.bsky.social

We are have updated our research into which garden plants attract the most pollinators. Our original research included 5 years of data. We then moved house so this is now 9 years of data over 2 different locations. www.rosybee.com/research-study

So the #peat extraction counter on @peatfree.bsky.social peatfreepartnership.org.uk has just topped 200,000m3. That's around 80 Olympic swimming pools' worth of peat dug from irreplaceable peat bogs already this year, and it's only March. Just think about that for a moment 😶 #endpeatsales

It’s the start of a new season, and our first plants are being shipped out. Happy Spring everyone 🌷🌱 #plantsforbees #plants #pollinators

Paul just finished cleaning the polytunnel roof- quite the mountain goat! The improved light levels help plant growth

The elf cup fungi are so numerous and large this year. Never seen so many in our site.

More nurseries are joining us & we're getting close to the new growing season, so here's a Bluesky #PeatFree #Nurseries List: shorturl.at/dIgYz So far includes 15 of 127 growers from ⬇️ list. Do let me know if I've missed anyone. Pls pin & share so these fantastic eco-friendly growers feel the 💚🌳💚.

So glad the polytunnel stood up to another snow fall. The rain has now melted most of it.

Rosybee is now open again with some very nice hardy over-wintered plant stock. Sales now will be delivered in March (when the soil is warmer) but can be delivered earlier on request. www.rosybee.com/plants

Pulmonaria blue ensign just beginning to flower in the polytunnel. #plantsforpollinators

Our lavenders are all looking very happy in the polytunnel and ready for early spring sales. We will open the 'shop' again in January

We leave the all the old stalks in the borders as winter shelter for insects and add all the leaves from the drive as mulch. I think it still looks lovely and not as barren as it would if all 'tidied away'.

Our woodland floor Consistent national records go back to 1600, & it was woodland then, therefore likely since the last ice age Year after year it accumulates natural organic matter. Ancient woodland isn’t just trees The soil is unique. The soil is special

We spent the day building some steps down towards our wild pond. We used some recycled stone. I’ve wanted these for ages to stop me skidding down the bank. So happy.

Hazel dormouse hibernating in our propogation house! I noticed the nest of dried plant stems a few weeks ago and assumed it was a mouse but on checking now I discovered the dormouse....which I would not have touched if I had know. Now safely tucked up again and snug with base heat of 6 degrees

Welcome to bluesky! I am looking forwards to the switch and re-engaging with my nature obsessed tribe.