Natalie, about the Sea Holly. I do not understand that one. Sea Holly is known for a drought-resistant plant, it has massive tap roots that go very deeply, it is in the thistle family and can withstand zero watering. I have never watered my Sea Holly and it is maniacal in growth, almost mutant, hee, hee, smiling.
Sea Holly. It is a perennial that does not bloom the first year but makes a very pretty plant. The second year the stalks rise up, covered upon covered with thousands and thousands of small thistle-like blooms. Sea Holly, like many plants, when germinating the seed must have a certain dormancy broken, e.g., snapdragons, freezing for 48 hours or just really cold in the coldest part of the fridge for a few days. This is integral to good germination.
More clearly define what happens, what you experience when you try to grow it. I can't quite wrap my head around it because it grows so well in poor, dry soil, like thistles. Oh, just thought. Maybe you water it too much? Natalie, define more clearly for me, I may be able to help. Have a most wonderful day, love and live life, health. Cindi
This is a picture of one of the gardens below the apiary. The Sea Holly grows along the right hand side of the bare earth you see. In the bottom left is a picture of the Fuller's Teasel, the green growing plants, the bees also loved them, they are in the thistle family. I think bees like all thistle family plants.
These are just several pictures of the Sea Holly, the bees and other beneficials truly go nuts on this stuff. The stalks are about 5 feet tall, the foliage only grows no higher than about 18 inches or so.
The SEa Holly the first year prior to blooming the next year:
In full bloom, the most beautiful electric blue coloured flowers, simply astounding. I have about 30 of these to dig up to move to my new home when we go, that is still leaving behind some of the older mother plants, whose roots are very deep in the soil.
Some of the Agastache foeniculum (Giant Hyssop, Blue Fortune), with cleome (oh yes, they love cleome too) beside to the right. The Agastache is the plant with the blue stocks sticking up. Just enjoy these pictures.
Missed out, haste makes waste. Guess I didn't put in the links to some pictures to complete this post.
This is the picture of the Giant Hyssop, Blue Fortune, that I take many, many cuttings off of the mother plant. The cuttings bloom the same year, and bloom about 2 weeks after the mother plants do, it prolongs the season and high nectar/pollen that these plants provide. I think that I did about 60 cuttings last late spring in May, to bloom a couple of months later, middle of July.
Cleome is the pink on the left, the Agastache (giant hyssop on the right)
They cover the Agastache (giant hyssop)
I forgot to mention also, they LOVE Heliotrope (and I love the sweet scent of this flower too, no wonder they go after it)
The Fuller's Teasel is another that the honeybees and bombus love, it is an amazing plant that grows to be about 12-14 feet tall. It is a biennial so it does not bloom the first year either from seed, the same as Sea Holly.
THis picture is of me, I am about 5'2" tall, this plant is not yet full grown, so picture how big it is...
The beneficials love the teasel
The dried flower pods make beautiful flower arrangements.
Right, need to give you some nice pictures of phacelia tanacetifolia. Planted in succession, as MILTA said, they burn out about mid summer, but if showed several times, there is a continuous supply of fabulous nectar/pollen.
There are many more pictures of plants with the bees, but this is probably more than enough for now, smiling. Cindi