Bumblebee on Winter Honeysuckle
Dear Readers, there has been a lot of news about flowers blooming out of season this week, to coincide with the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland’s (BSBI) annual Plant Hunt. Over the years, this citizen science project has recorded a change in when plants flower, with many plants blooming earlier than they used to. There was a very interesting NHBS talk about this very subject during lockdown (I reported on it here).
One result of the milder winters is that some bumblebee colonies are surviving right through the winter, instead of dying off. A more common sight, however, is a queen bumblebee popping out on a mildish day for some nectar. My very first post was on this subject, and it’s one of the main reasons that I try to make sure that I have something in flower all through the year, just in case. Winter Honeysuckle is a great favourite, as is Mahonia, and that so-called ‘thug’ Green Alkanet is also often around.
Bee on Fatsia japonica in central London in late November
Some exotics that may still be in flower in sheltered spots include Fatsia japonica, a real bumblebee magnet, some Hebes, and some clematis, all of which can provide food for queen bumbles on a mild day. The bumblebee in the photo below was snapped on my birthday in January.
So, while the world is definitely out of joint, with flowers blooming and bees emerging at times when you would not normally see them, there is a little bit that we can do to help our fellow creatures – plant some late/early flowering shrubs or bulbs, and see who turns up! Though good luck if you’re planting crocuses, because they are a great favourite with some of our other furry friends…
Crocus bulbs after the squirrels had had a nibble….
And that’s the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas! The decorations are stowed away for another year, the diary is full of Open University assignments (and rather too many visits to the theatre to be compatible with the assignments, but hey), the days are gradually getting longer and once it gets above freezing I will be out and about again. I hope the season has been/is being kind to you and yours, and here’s to another year of nature!
Pedant that I am, I must just repeat my comment below from four years ago!
Traditionally, the Twelve Days of Christmas don’t start until the day after Christmas Day, and so Twelfth Night (and Epiphany) is 6th January, not the 5th! From the Middle Ages until the mid-Victorian era, this was an important date in the calendar for everyone from royalty – Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was first performed as part of festivities at the court of Elizabeth I on 6th January 1601) – to agricultural workers, who didn’t return to their labours until the Monday after the 6th (Plough Monday). In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens refers to “Twelfth Cakes”, which would have been familiar to his readers in 1843, but now requires an explanatory note: “Ornamental cakes eaten on Twelfth Night (6th January), a major celebration at the conclusion of the Victorian Christmas season”.
Forward to 2026 … I was listening to Radio 3 earlier, and Katie Derham described today as “Twelfth Night Eve” and rermarked that we have 24 hours to take the Christmas decorations down. I must admit that I tend to keep at least some of mine up for a bit longer, until I feel ready to face the January gloom, and I’ll certainly be doing that this year!
Ah, when I last started my Twelve Days of Christmas on the 26th some other people commented that it should be the 25th, so I feel that I’m between a rock and a hard place here….Hopefully at least today’s post, on Epiphany, is on the right date 😉