Tag Archives: Sunflower

Being in the Center or on the Edge

21 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by in Back Yard Garden, Backyard Garden, Bumblebee, Canon, Dwarf Sungold Sunflower, Garden, Home Garden, Honey Bee, Sunflower, Sunflowers, Sungold flower

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The Bumblebee in the first picture is having a good time on the peripheral of the Dwarf Sungold Sunflower. He is feasting on the nectar as he makes his way around the flower. The Honey bee in the second picture is planted in the center of sunflower for his sweet feast. Which bee is smarter in its position in the flower? I’m not sure if there is a sweeter part of the flower between the center and the petals.

The Honeybee do produce more honey than the Bumblebee. The Bumblebee is good at using their bigger bodies to vibrate the flowers until they release pollen. Releasing the pollen helps plants produce more fruit.

Is it better to be closer to the edge to shake things up compared to being in the center where it may be safer? In the case of the bees, it seems that each position is important.

It is usually more comfortable to play it safe. I like to look at the ocean for the view, but I do not like to spend a lot of time at beaches. When we went to Hawaii, we did visit the beach but did not lay out on the sand. When we were in Costa Rica, we chose to be in the 4 foot deep spacious swimming pool over going to the beach in the resort. In our area, recently there have been sad incidents where people have been hit by waves on the beach and disappeared into the ocean. While these incidents can be rare, I am pretty content not spending a lot of time on the beach.

Conversely, there are times it is advantageous to take a risk and try something new. In our pandemic life, we tried playing family games with participants in 3 different locations. We played 3 different online games for the first time in a Zoom meeting. It was fun to learn the games and interact with each other.

Doing this blog and sharing my photographs is something I never thought I would do. I keep learning new things as I continue to shoot and examine my pictures. I appreciate all those who take a little time to look at my blog. Taking risks continuously teaches me new lessons.

Lastly, there is a time to play it safe, and there is a time to take a risk. Both actions are important to do. I’m learning that I need to do both and learn when I should take a risk and when to play it safe.

The Bees are doing the same thing by being in the center or on the edge. It’s all good!

Photos give valuable lessons.

 

Inviting Bees with Dwarf Sungold Sunflower

20 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by in Back Yard Garden, Backyard Garden, Garden, Home Garden, Sunflower, Sunflowers, Sungold flower

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I received a bunch of seeds courtesy of the Sierra Club. The seeds were from Bentley Seeds Inc in Cambridge, New York and were to grow Dwarf Sungold Sunflowers or Helianthus annuus. So I followed the instructions last March 21, 2020 to put the seeds in 1/2 inch deep into loose soil and planted the seeds about 12 inches apart.

These flowers are considered as dwarf in size. But they are still big and grew to be about 3 feet tall with about 8 inches in diameter. I shot this picture on July 16, 2020. These flowers are full with all these ruffled petals. They attracted a lot of bees to my garden. Unfortunately, these sunflowers did not last forever and eventually died off. But they are relatively easy to grow.

I still have some of seeds leftover from my free stash. I plan to grow more sunflowers in March as I did last year. I am learning what flowers grow well in my environment of fog and sandy soil. I am creating a schedule when I should purchase and plant the flowers to invite more flying friends to my garden.

It is funny now I am planning how to invite bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to my garden. Early last year, we were planning to invite real people to our garden for a party to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 100th birthday. I was planning the Bluetooth music with speakers and fun lighting. My wife was imagining what kind of food to purchase and cook. My mother-in-law wanted a party at our home and not in a restaurant. Parties can be more intimate at home. Parties do take work and planning. But it is rewarding to see people interacting and having fun.

Unfortunately, all these plans were dismissed as we realized how serious the pandemic is. Even though our plans had to change, the discovery of a backyard refuge for me and my flying friends has been an interesting adventure.

Who knows how long this pandemic will last? We don’t know when we can actually invite our family and friends for a backyard party. But for now, I plan on inviting my flying friends and providing enticing sweet treats for our garden party.

I am learning to change with our circumstantial changes in order to thrive during this pandemic. Change is hard, but change is required.

Photos remind us that our world constantly changes, and we must change to adapt.