I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On Sun, 11 Aug 2013 18:32:03 +0100, Sacha wrote:

I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted 7
bumblebees.

Hi Sacha,

We love the stuff. It's self seeding and can be quite invasive, and in
any case never ends up where it's intended! Been working its way out of
a bed onto the grass, a few days ago I threw a bunch of seeds back into
the bed but I expect it will come up on the lawn... Unfortunately we
won't have blooms next year as I haven't spotted any of the first year
form (its biennial I guess).

Butterflies and bees just adore it.
-E



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

On 11/08/2013 18:32, Sacha wrote:
I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.

Which one? Common angelica, or A. gigas, or some other one?

--

Jeff

No need to guess, it's well known to be biennial. It's extraordinarily hardy - there are meadows of it in marshy areas in the interior of Iceland, where the annual average temperature is below zero, and a short distance away you'll see nothing but bare rock and sand.

On 2013-08-12 09:29:03 +0100, Jeff Layman said:

On 11/08/2013 18:32, Sacha wrote:
I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.

Which one? Common angelica, or A. gigas, or some other one?

A. gigas, I think. I'll check but I'm pretty sure it's that one.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2013-08-12 10:30:14 +0100, Sacha said:

On 2013-08-12 09:29:03 +0100, Jeff Layman said:

On 11/08/2013 18:32, Sacha wrote:
I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.

Which one? Common angelica, or A. gigas, or some other one?

A. gigas, I think. I'll check but I'm pretty sure it's that one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93694401@N03/9496906512/
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 12/08/2013 18:37, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-08-12 10:30:14 +0100, Sacha said:

On 2013-08-12 09:29:03 +0100, Jeff Layman said:

On 11/08/2013 18:32, Sacha wrote:
I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.

Which one? Common angelica, or A. gigas, or some other one?

A. gigas, I think. I'll check but I'm pretty sure it's that one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93694401@N03/9496906512/

Nice! Great colour.

Pity it's so short-lived. Is it just biennial with you, or does it last
a bit longer?

--

Jeff

On 2013-08-12 20:16:54 +0100, Jeff Layman said:

On 12/08/2013 18:37, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-08-12 10:30:14 +0100, Sacha said:

On 2013-08-12 09:29:03 +0100, Jeff Layman said:

On 11/08/2013 18:32, Sacha wrote:
I don't know if anyone grows this as an ornamental plant but not only
are the flowers rather spectacular, so worthy of a place in a border,
the bees are just going crazy on it! On one flowerhead alone I counted
7 bumblebees.

Which one? Common angelica, or A. gigas, or some other one?

A. gigas, I think. I'll check but I'm pretty sure it's that one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93694401@N03/9496906512/

Nice! Great colour.

Pity it's so short-lived. Is it just biennial with you, or does it
last a bit longer?

I don't know because we don't grow it ourselves in the garden! We'll
have to give it a try next year, I think. I simply could not believe
the amount of bees it attracts.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk