Single or Double

 All of a sudden, the garden has burst into bloom with the recent warm weather. It has been somewhat frustrating that I am unable to do much gardening as I have a broken arm, but in compensation there is no need to feel guilty for sitting on the bench watching the pond in the sunshine.

Single Marsh Marigold

At the moment the marsh marigolds are blooming. There are two varieties in the pond, one is the wild single flowered sort, and the other has "double" flowers though in fact each flower has many rows of petals. This will be a cultivated variety rather than a natural one. In fact, I prefer the single flowers, both for appearance and the fact that they are far more accessible to insect life. All those extra petals look pretty but they make it difficult, or even impossible, for the insects to get at the pollen or nectar.

Double flowered Marsh Marigold

One of the other flowers around the pond, spring sweet pea, (Lathyrus verna) had an interesting visitor. It was a bee I had not seen before but was very distinctive being covered in orange hairs. It was a Tawny Mining Bee. No it's not! see below:

Update:  An insect expert tells me it is  Bombus pascuorum, the Common Carder Bee.

 (Tawny Mining Bee: These are solitary bees which make a nest in soil and feed their young on pollen. Apparently their nests look like little volcanoes of soil with a hole in the top but I have not yet managed to see where it is nesting.)

The Bogbean flowers in the pond have just started to open, and if you look carefully a fly has already decided to visit.

If you are choosing flowers for your garden, consider buying the single flowered varieties and you will be doing the local insects a favour. And they will return the favour by visiting your garden.