Explore Outdoors ~ What's that Buzz?

 

 

Mullien is one of the "weeds" I allow to grow in my garden. It's a biennial, so it takes two years to grow. In its first year it produces a low-growing rosette of woolly felt-like bluish-gray leaves. It's in the second year that the flowering spike shoots up, bursting into yellow blooms. They take up a lot of room, but since the bumble bees love them, I let them grow in areas that have lots of unused space - like the bed where the pumpkins grow. All those vines! surely there's room for a mullien or three.

This week, listen to the insects buzzing around your flowers. Take a closer look to see who is visiting.