Doom or gloom? Boom or bloom?
Today is Earth Day, and millions of folks around the world stopped--at least for a moment--to pay tribute to the 46th annual observance. They planted trees, weeded their gardens, greeted pollinators, or just thought about environmental issues.
Every Earth Day, we pay special attention to the tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii). The biannual, native to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco, is a favorite in pollinator gardens, including ours. Seven feet tall and graced with pinkish blossoms splashed with blue pollen, it lives up to its name...tower of jewels.
Then it morphs into a tower of bees. Hello, honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees and carpenter bees.
As they dive in, will they not only survive but thrive? If we each do our part, we can help the pollinators thrive.
Happy Earth Day!
Attached Images:
Two honey bees forage in the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A cordovan honey bee dives head first in a tower of jewels blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, its tongue or proboscis extended, heads for a nectar treat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)