Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: muddifoot on June 14, 2008, 07:51

Title: border flowers help
Post by: muddifoot on June 14, 2008, 07:51

My plot is about 90 feet long with a path between mine and neighbors and I would like to plant something hardy along half of this -  does anyone have a suggestion  on oranges or yellows please- full sunand ok  soil

Title: border flowers help
Post by: muddifoot on June 14, 2008, 07:52

i meant NO oranges or yellows please

Title: border flowers help
Post by: Wildeone on June 14, 2008, 08:28

i'm lovin' lupins at the moment they had beautiful leaves all winter and now the bees are going mad for the beautiful flowers!

Title: border flowers help
Post by: Jen on June 14, 2008, 10:43

i too have a row of lupins covered in bees
canterberry bells and sweetwilliams, marigolds
you say no orange or yellow but that's the colour
bees and insects go for.
lots of dahlias to come later.     :flower:

jen

Title: border flowers help
Post by: weeeed on June 14, 2008, 15:34

Cosmos gladiolas, narcissi, dahlias dianthus, chrisanthemums, all sorts of lillies. Have a plot of plants just for cutting. :wink:

Title: border flowers
Post by: muddifoot on June 15, 2008, 07:52

thanks            for all the ideas-- I certainly did not know that bees prefer yellow and orange-  I think I might have a rethink on color-     also did I misunderstand or did  wildone say they (lupins ) don,t die back in winter?
So very much I have to learn- wow.

Title: border flowers help
Post by: Wildeone on June 15, 2008, 08:37

:oops:  :oops: Mine didn't but it may well be beginners luck and a very sheltered garden :?   It's only the 2nd year i've grown anything :!:

Title: border flowers help
Post by: compostqueen on June 15, 2008, 09:00

Dahlias are strong and can get big and bushy. Loads of the plotters grow them.  I suppose cos they're easy to raise from seed and last years.  I just jumped on the bandwagon and have grown some myself and had good results

Sweet Williams are lovely too and I think no plot is complete without those :D

Title: border flowers help
Post by: Teen76 on June 18, 2008, 23:36

I believe the favourite colour of the Bee is in fact violet and I think scientists (or the bees) believe this colour holds the most nectar.  Something to do with seeing in UV or something.

Title: border flowers help
Post by: muddifoot on June 19, 2008, 08:39

i'm inclined to go along with the violet as there is a huge comfrey plant next to a load of cosmos and the comfrey plant has at least a hundred bees on it and the cosmos only seem to attract about 3 or 4 bees - so that kind of puts the yellow and orange theory in doubt.

Title: border flowers help
Post by: purplebean on June 19, 2008, 11:24

Just found  this (http://www.raci.org.au/chemaust/docs/pdf/2004/CiA%20March2004p4.pdf) which is interesting

Title: border flowers help
Post by: wengren on August 31, 2008, 21:10

cosmos are lovely and the bees love them. you can get cosmos in alot of colours and sizes and they are really easy to grow from seed.