This year I planted a drift of Allium sphaerocephalen along the edge of the front lawn. I had seen them growing at Cotswold Garden Flowers last summer and liked the fact that they were one of the later alliums to flower.
They have thrived in the warm and dry border and I am particularly taken with the way they open their florets from the bottom up so they look like they have pointed tops.
However, as much as I like them the bees seem to be completely obsessed with them. This evening while I was watering the pots in the front garden I noticed that the bees were spending a long time on each bloom. On getting my camera I found that the bees were so busy, and almost drunk, with the pollen that I could film them for quite some time before they moved off to the next flower.
I am fairly pleased with these pictures but I think my struggle to get the bees and flowers in focus has persuaded me that despite what some people say I really need to progress to a DSLR. As for the bees I shall be planting three times as many Allium sphaerocephales next year.
From a little research I have discovered that the common name of this plant is the round-headed leek and you can eat the bulb. It is native to Europe but there is only one wild colony in the UK, in the Avon Gorge, so unbeknownst to me I have planted a native species which is possibly why it is popular with the bees.
