props to rooftop bee keeping!

It was the first time in months that my wife had Saturday off, so it meant we had the whole weekend together and were loving it. We hung around the house catching up on house work and chores, taking it easy and enjoying the chill day. From our living room we look west towards the Manhattan skyline and in the afternoon as we have seen a few times before we saw man standing atop one building a few blocks away. I saw him back in late winter tinkering around on his roof and wondered what he was up to. Fixing one of the many satellite dishes or something? I shot a video because I was perplexed.

Well, this time I figured out the reason for his rooftop antics. It turns out he is a rooftop bee keeper. How cool is that?!?!

I never tire of the individuals in this city that persevere, utilizing their own creativity and thinking outside the box to make this a better place for themselves and all other living things. So very cool. Makes me want to get into bee keeping.

Bees!

On a woodland slope in Central Park one of my favorite late winter bloomers is once again coming to life. Hamamelis vernalis is commonly called winter witchhazel, a fabulous medium-sized native shrub and the latest of the North American Hamamelis species to bloom.

Every year I seem to take the same shots of these first shrubs and bulbs to throw some color into the late winter landscape. And so as I was approaching my reliable friend for the "hort porn" macro shots I thought to myself, "how can I change it up this year and make these more interesting". Not that the shrub and it's unique spidery flowers aren't amazing in their own right, but you might know what I'm talking about. Well, luckily for me nature stepped in and decided to rock my world. Bees!

As I sniffed the medicinal fragrance that I have come to love about this plant I heard the buzzing. Pulling back I realized the witchhazel was loaded with bees doing their wild dance among the clusters of yellow and maroon flowers. The first bee sighting of the year my focus quickly shifted to these magnificent little pollinators. A few great shots came from the series. Remember, the more native species you incorporate into your garden the more you also support and provide for local bird and insect populations, all good things.

Enjoy, and Happy Almost Spring!

I think this one might take the cake:

(love the sun glowing through the bee's abdomen!)

For more info on Hamamelis visit last years post here.

Dahlias, apparently bee pollinated

A fellow horticulturist named Fred recently wrote me asking what bee populations I had seen around the city this spring and summer. He was concerned their numbers were down drastically this year as he hadn't seen too many in the gardens of his private clients. Apparently they are present though, and loving the annual dahlias planted around the city. ...granted, he is concerned about honey bees and not necessarily bumble bees like this one, but either way, I thought the shots were pretty. And I love capturing the romance between the plant and the pollinator. Makes me think of watching the David Attenborough series The Private Life of Plants in horticulture school. There was one episode entitled "Flowering" that dealt with the topic of pollination, and the footage was mindblowing as a developing horticulturist. Who wouldn't love to be an explorer traveling around the world to make such discoveries. Hmm, I should get my hands on that series. Talk about some killer botanical photography and video, complete with Attenborough's thick accent and safari garb. Yup, priceless.
Full dahlia gallery to be posted soon, once I finish IDing the bizillion cultivars I have on my camera!