Sun, Bugs and Buds

What incredible weather we have had this week! As I told my friend, Michele, when we were walking the other morning, days like this are why we live in New England and are willing to put up with so many of those other types of days. Simply glorious! And of course, this brings out the garden lovers as well as a flying pest or two. The carpenter bees are back at work, so I have called Ron at “Rest in Peace Pest Control” in East Longmeadow (413-525-4227) to take care of them again. Carpenter bees drill holes in wood to create nest sites. The first time I noticed the holes, I thought John had gone crazy with his drill. They are perfectly round and about the size of your finger. The bees don’t eat the wood, though. They feed on pollen and nectar, and pollinate flowers and trees. Normally, we would just let them ‘board’ with us, but if you just let one generation after another drill their holes in your wood, it can cause a lot of structural damage. Plus, these bees are quite huge, about an inch long with big black heads, and, they are noisy. They scare our customers when they dive-bomb and fly around them. For the most part, the diving bees are males and have no stinger, but that doesn’t make them any less fearsome. So, (sigh) bye, bye bees.
And now, back to the plants. The abundance of sun has really pushed our growing plants to a new level of lush in the greenhouse. The photo above is from a few days ago but shows some of my favorite annuals. We like to grow the Proven Winner varieties because they perform so well and are almost always awesome. You can click on the photo to get a better look, or, come by the greenhouse and see for yourself.