Bumblebee Garden Project

The bumblebee bed is starting to get a little crowded! The forsythia has already bloomed, as have a few daffodils that I put in last year. I'd like to put in more daffys for next spring. I don't know if I'll put in colourful annuals this year - on one hand I'd like to - on the other hand I'd have to go fight for the seeds or plants. I am wondering if there is a perrennial I might introduce, perhaps next year, that would have blooms that would be not yellow and not blue/purple. Perhaps something that blooms red?

A surprise this early afternoon - this hummingbird enjoyed checking out the speedwell.

Yesterday

Here are photos of my 'bumblebee' garden as of today! No bumblebees today, but many other bees!

I've planted some zinnia seeds today but otherwise am not messing with it further this year.

We've got comfrey, forsythia, speedwell, hollyhocks, a few hens-and-chicks, lavender, a couple of daisies, and a tickseed plant (and daffodils,) and what I'm pretty sure is thyme.

I would like to have some anise hyssop somewhere in my garden again, but I might make a bed for that alone in my front yard later.

Tickseed has flowered, and along with the lavender, it is attracting numerous visitors today.
Also the nearby sumac is flowering at the moment, which is drawing pollinators to the garden.
Here are some photos I took less than an hour ago.
Yesterday there was a massive bumblebee on the lavender, but by the time I went into the house to get my camera, it had flown away.

I wrote a bit of a story about what I've done recently with this garden bed but then it vanished on me! I will quickly summarize instead:

Removed "thyme" (it was actually sage - it's gone elsewhere in the garden)
Added portulaca
Added clump of mystery fancy grass someone gave me years ago and which I've been transplanting around the place ever since
Have a water bowl in the bed for flying critters, mostly paper wasps are using it
Took out some hen-n-chicks
A runner bean vine has come up
And a zinnia flowered


We are in "stage two" drought and there are wildfires not far away (I can see some of one from the backyard when the wind blows the smoke away enough to see the mountainsides)

Now I'll just post a couple of photos :)

Weather continues to be unusually cool (and rainy.) Here's how the bumblebee bed was looking a few days ago.

What a nice looking flower bed!

Thank you!

I hope to extend it this year, but I feel like time is running out! Maybe I'll manage it this weekend :)

This is what it's looking like today :)