The poppies are the bees knees

The late spring bank holiday was always Whitsuntide in my childhood. Falling on the 7th Sunday after Easter, it celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples. 

In England some of its characteristics mirror Beltane, a pagan celebration of Summers Day. Whitsuntide was one of three holiday weeks for the medieval villein, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. 

Not that there was any sign of pause in this garden; everything seems grow before your eyes. But one of the things I've learned to do over the years is to stop and enjoy what is happening in the garden. It's easy at this time of year to be so busy working in the garden, that you can forget what's actually going on in the garden. 

One of the welcome arrivals at this time of year is this perineal poppy. Sown a few years ago from a packet of seeds, it's become a real star of the early summer, and (apart from us) its biggest fans are the bees. They work euphorically, visiting individual flowers, seemingly drunk on the heady scent of pollen. 

It's estimated 80% of food crops are pollinated by bees, so as well as an abundance of fruit and vegetables, this garden sports an abundance of flowers. For as the bees pollinate the flowers, so they pollinate the fruit trees and vegetable crops. 

(Can you see the drunken bee?)

Another benefit of growing poppies is you can collect seeds. The flowers give way to capsules, each housing hundreds of seeds. Simply shake each capsule - when you hear a rattle the seed head can be cut -and the seeds shaken into an old envelope or paper bag. 

These can then be sown in spring or given to friends and family so they can enjoy them just as much as the bees. 

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