Bees and Roses

December has been very hot and with temperatures of up to 45° C the roses have suffered a lot. Deep watering in the morning could help the plants but the flowers had no chance against the scorching effect of the heat.  After deadheading the roses in the afternoon one could walk out into the rosarium in the cooler mornings and enjoy the buds that opened overnight.

The rosarium in the mornings is normally a hive of activity of Cape white eyes and sunbirds flitting through the rose plants eating aphids and other insects. The Olive thrush couple were busy on the rosarium floor hunting for earth bound insects. It lifts my spirit to see all the birds tending to the garden and helping to reduce the insect population.

The fresh roses of the mornings have the brightest colours which will fade to paler versions of themselves in the midday heat.  I find the bees most active in the morning while the pollen is thick and bright yellow in the newly opened roses.

Albert Einstein is sometimes quoted as saying, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” It's highly unlikely that Einstein said that, but it made me think how important these busy guys are for me as a gardener and for the human race.

How many of us give a thought for these little insects that are so important for our survival. The buzzing of bees in my garden is a comforting sound and their presence makes everything feel in balance.

As I walk into our garden in the coolness of the day I look upon its beauty and tip my hat to the bees having a rose pollen breakfast.