Buds, Bees, Butterflies and Blueberries

It is easy to get spring fever when the garden starts to show the first signs of color, and I am eager to shake off winter. Tender buds are bursting open on each new day, fresh foliage is pushing its way up from the sweet earth, days grow longer and the sun shines brighter. But spring is not a season we enter into lightly in Georgia. It is a roller coaster ride with extreme peaks, gentle dips and sharp turns. I have a real urge to plant, but I know that it is best to tip toe through March because the threat of frost still looms. And yet the warm, sunny 80 degree days brings out the pollinators to visit the blooms and my heart is full.

Redbud tree with Swallowtail butterfly

The Eastern Redbuds stand tall at the edge of the stark woods, which is still waiting for foliage to leaf out and provide a opulent canopy. These small yet sturdy trees are a powerhouse of pink, covered with vivid blooms from top to bottom, even exploding out of the trunk.

Bumblebee on redbud blooms

This early blooming native tree is a package of happiness in our garden, attracting a variety of bees and butterflies to its dainty flowers.

Our 15 blueberry shrubs (yes, 15 and I still want more!) begin their bloom period this month. Their pastel buds bring renewed energy to the kitchen garden, catching the evening light glowing gorgeously as the sun gently sets each evening.

rabbiteye blueberry buds

I can hear the loud buzzing of the bees that cover the blueberry blooms, before I even reach the kitchen garden. These bees are essential to successful berry production because blueberry pollen is sticky and heavy and can't move on its own. Rabbiteye blueberries are native to Georgia and we now lead the nation in production, beating out Michigan, traditionally regarded as the blueberry capital of the country.

Southeastern blueberry bee

The Southeastern blueberry bees are a native pollinator that resemble bumblebees, but can be distinguished by their yellow face. Using buzz pollination, they are busy pollinators specializing in blueberries, but will also visit other native, early spring blooms such as Redbuds and Carolina Jessamine.

Butterflies are also a fan of the blueberry's sweet nectar. I adore how they hang upside down and cling to the drooping blooms, inserting their proboscis and drinking effortlessly.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on blueberry blooms

Based on the pollinators who are visiting the blueberries, I think I'm safe in saying that we will have another fruitful harvest this year.

Another fruit tree that has burst into its spring glory is the peach tree. Blooms range from pale pink to dark blush. These too are a pollinator favorite even though they don't requiring pollination services to produce fruit (self-pollinating). However, nectar-collecting insects will help move pollen subsequently assisting in fertilization.

This Eastern Tiger swallowtail continually returned to visit the peach blossoms, diving freely into the flowers. Enjoying the sun-kissed day.

Other recurrent visitors are beetles, native bees and honeybees. Notice the pollen covering the thorax and abdomen of this beetle as it bustles about the stamen and pistal. Fruit production is underway.

While seedlings are growing indoors, planting will wait until April and my fingers will feel the richness of the soil soon enough. So, as we gingerly march through this blissful season, I am delighting in each sweet sign of spring. The buds, the bees, the butterflies and of course the blueberries!