The garden is looking very summery. The oleanders are in full bloom and that for me screams “SUMMER”! But not just any old summer – Mediterranean summer. They are the ultimate “I’m on holiday” flower for me as I associate them with childhood vacations in Greece and the south of France. Of course I’m now lucky enough to live in summer holiday land so I get to see my oleanders for a whole season and not just two weeks. I also get to gaze out on the most magnificent Callistemon bush, ablaze with fiery red bottlebrush flowers. Something about the climate agreed with it this year. It’s superb!
The long cold spring has meant certain flowers are late; the lavender is only just fully purple. But surprisingly it doesn’t seem to have adversely affected the insects. The lavender, bottlebrush and an unknown yellow flower that self-seeded in abundance are alive with bees. Which is all very well as we all know bees are in danger. I’ve signed countless Avaaz petitions to stop the use of dangerous pesticides killing off bees and happily they seem to have had some success as the EU has agreed to suspend their use for two years. But on a more local level, our bees just love all the flowering weeds. We don’t use pesticides and have let certain areas of the garden grow wild and the result is lovely. Maybe it’s time to put in a hive and start making our own honey.
I hope you enjoy the photos of our flora, if only you could smell the jasmine! Funnily enough the bees don’t like it, but just try and count them in the yellow flowers. For more pretty pictures of the garden at Lou Messugo at its best in spring, click here
What’s growing in your garden right now? I’d love to hear from you.
You may enjoy these other posts about the garden at Lou Messugo:
September Mediterranean garden
Oleander – the flower with power
Thanks for your lovely words katie. I’m still learning, and don’t forget, a lot of these pictures are of weeds!!! 😉
Hi Lee, I assume your mom likes flowers!!! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Jennifer, it sounds like you make the most of your balcony space, I’d love to be able to grow lemongrass and chilli! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Your pictures are absolutely breath taking. I could only dream in living in such a beautiful place. Unfortunately I don’t have a green thumb and almost everything that I plant dies.
Beautiful. I think you and mom mother would get along very well.
Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier~
Beautiful flowers! I stay in an apartment, I wish I have a garden so that I can fill it with flowers just like yours. I have a small balcony where I have some mint leaves, lemongrass, chili plant, marigold that refuse to flower, a few catcus and some unknown species.