"Brian Mitchell" wrote in message
...
Hi,

can anyone identify a flower with a head of tiny florets like dusky
magenta broccoli? Its leaves are narrow, slightly-spiked ovals without
stalks arranged spirally round a stem which bleeds from magenta to green
--up to two feet tall, tho' these are leaning out for landing room.

And like a scene from The Lotuseaters, couched on these sumptuous beds,
barely able to twitch their lapsed wings, bees of every size and
description, from bumbling giants to slender nymphs, nod and drowse in
the darkening air, their abdomens faintly pumping. No prodding or
remonstrance will induce them to fly.

No surprise, because the flower has a comfy, upholstered scent (mildly
reminiscent of buddleia), like long summer evening train journeys taken
in childhood.

Is it fatal for the bees, or do they recover a proper sense of
themselves in the cool of the dawn?

Are you talking about Sedum spectabile? It is a good plant for attracting
butterflies, and in my patch it is just about to come into bloom. Like Omar
Khayyam, the butterflies are hovering at the pub door, waiting for it to
open.

Franz