Back for More in the Angelina

Said plenty about the Angelina this week already. Or was it last? Just a few days ago, anyway. It all blends together. Think I’ll be returning from Montana today and may be able to shoot more. So love this bee until I post some fresh ones (hopefully) tomorrow.

Kinda hard being on the road and missing so much of what’s blooming – and the attendant bees. Ugh.

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Bumble in the Penstemmons in the Sedum Angelina

Lots going on in this one. The Angelina, of course, and the penstemmon…and the wings and tongue and face and pollen. A good kind of busy. Especially like the wing blur.

Will be in Whitefish, Montana on Fri, Sat, Sun for the art festival. Come check it out if you’re in the area!

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Creamy in the Angelina

Weird thing to say, but this (sedum angelina) is my favorite ground cover. If you’ve been following the site, you’ll know that I like it because it’s both really aggressive and it’s easy to get rid of. That’s pretty rare in a ground cover. Plus it can be yellow, green, red, orange, etc., depending on the season. And the neat thing is that it flowers at the beginning of each summer…and the pollinators just love it. Plus it’s neat to shoot on/at for the background (and bokeh). That stretch is fun there in the pic. Would be neat to be able to choose to walk or fly…among the flowers.

Will be in Whitefish, Montana on Fri, Sat, Sun for the art festival. Come check it out if you’re in the area!

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Toward the Catmint Again

That yellow in the back in sedum angelina (stonecrop) and is one of my favorite ground covers. I’ve not found a thing not to like about it.

But to the bee… One thing to notice on this one is the tongue. You can see not only the tongue, but also both of the maxilla. I’ve got a few nice shots of this on bumbles, but never on a honeybee. So this is a neat one! Plus in-flight is always neat…

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Bonus – Contrasting Colors and a Wasp

Paper wasp on a Siberian Squill. Lots of those lately. They seem to like what the squill has to offer. Or…maybe they’re just hunting because that’s where the other critters are currently. The orange-ey looking succulent is Sedum Angelina. One of my very favorites. Great ground cover. Today it’s mostly orange. But it can be green, brown, yellow, orange, or even red. Depending. One of the reasons I like it so much is that while it spreads everywhere fast (and keeps the weeds down, mostly), it’s pretty easy to remove. That’s not always the case with effective ground covers. So here’s a paper wasp face.

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Twofer (almost) – on the Angelina (Sedum)

One of my very, very favorite plants in the garden. A ground cover – Sedum Angelina (I think). Neat little succulent that starts yellow, but ends up with pinks, reds, greens, etc.

One of the reasons it’s so great is that it’s really aggressive – truly covers the ground. But aggressive isn’t always a good thing if you can’t get rid of whatever it is that’s aggressive – if you need to. But the Angelina is really easy to “weed” – to keep in check. Comes out really easily (for transplanting, I’d hope – giving to neighbors – whatever) and isn’t at all obnoxious that way. Blooms once a year and the pollinators seem to like it. The blossoms are so small that the bees don’t stick around long so it’s tough to get a shot, but…

Anyway, fantastic plant. Pretty, aggressive, yet manageable. Get it.

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Blue Pollen in Flight

Honeybee in Flight – it’s been into the Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica)

Catching a bee in flight with really legit, hair-on-the-eyeballs focus is way more luck than management. But it happens sometimes. It’s kind of a busy shot with that Squill in the foreground and mess elsewhere. That yellow/green spikey thing is called Jenny’s Stonecrop. But I call her Angelina (Sedum (Petrosedum rupestre subsp. rupestre ‘Angelina’)) and I might have a bit of a plant crush on her.

While it does bloom once a year (I’ll find some bee pics on it eventually), it’s mostly a ground cover. And a wonderful one at that. It’s heartier than…well…come up with your own metaphor (and include living on concrete in a pinch), it grows quickly, and keeps most of the weeds out. And it’s nice-looking as it changes color through the season. But one of the best things about it is that it’s not hard to remove if you need to (or if it’s wandered somewhere it does not belong). Not all ground covers behave that way.

Didn’t I just rant about ads on sites? Apparently today’s post was brought to you by Sedum ‘Angelina’. Ha!

And that bee is almost iconic with that full bucket of blue pollen. Pretty girl.

I shot this today, by the way. Loving spring!

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