Winter Passion and Brazen Hussies

One bit of sunshine and I've succumbed to the urge to buy a plant. I should have planned, cleared and all those good things but ... it was red.

Winter Passion Perennial Wallflower.

So I hurriedly cleared out the worst of the invasive Lesser Celandine from a patch of ground and bunged it in with a handful of grit, some of our own compost and an apology. As usual, I had been distracted by bees. Our first Hairy Footed Flower Bee of the year - a male - had put in an appearance and it led me a merry dance before I could identify it. Then a Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee had to be removed from the conservatory. No wonder I don't have time to clear weeds properly!

Brazen Hussy in the path.

While I was working, I noticed plants in the gaps between the paving stones. The one in the photo is Brazen Hussy. This bronze-leaved Lesser Celandine is a little less invasive than its wild cousin but I still need to keep an eye on it.

Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax) pollinating a Brazen Hussy.

The sun-like flowers are very good for pollinators. The photo shows it being visited by a Hoverfly.