Taken in my friend's garden. I'm always intrigued by the ants which crawl all over Peonies. I know there's a reason for this (pollination??) but I can't remember what it is now!
Looks like a nice colour once they open. no ants - flower won't open is what I heard.
thank you Ann for identifying my flower. I googled the name and came up with a deep bluish/purpel flower called Black Barlow Columbine. I also have them in a very light pink almost white looking flower.
Oh, my grandma always took me along to visit her friend, a very old lady with nothing closer to a child’s toy than one porcelain shepherdess and a bunch of plastic grapes, so I contented myself exploring the peony bush by her front stoop. This made those forgotten memories pop up fresh again.
Great shot of the peonies.
If you have ants greenflies/aphis are not far from it. Ants farms greenflies for the sugar they supplay. Have a look of you can find a/there nest somewhere around.
@bruni Thanks Bruni- I'm not sure about the type of Columbine you found. I'm more familiar with the wild kind which you posted and also comes in the pink color. But I'm sure there's many variations of them.
Thank you CC, Sarah, Peter, Marnie, Rob, Dione and Henri!
If they don't know you have them yet Sarah, it's probably because they don't have any "ant food" on them yet. As noted by Dione, this is just the bud. The flower has not opened yet. Apparently bugs like aphids also like Peonies and ants like those buds. So the reason why they crawl all over the Peonies is because that's where they find food. In a way they are Nature's own pesticide.
Thanks Brian, Marilyn, Joyce, Helen, Chris, and Haskar! I appreciate your views and comments! I'm not sure I'll be back when this one is in full bloom but there have been plenty of them posted on 365 once they've opened. I may have one myself in some other year. They are a rather large and "fluffy" blossom.
@pyrrhula Thanks Ferry- did a little search based on your info and had fun learning about the myths and facts surrounding ants on Peonies.
thank you Ann for identifying my flower. I googled the name and came up with a deep bluish/purpel flower called Black Barlow Columbine. I also have them in a very light pink almost white looking flower.
If you have ants greenflies/aphis are not far from it. Ants farms greenflies for the sugar they supplay. Have a look of you can find a/there nest somewhere around.
@homeschoolmom @kjarn @dsp2
Thank you Lisa!
Thank you Kathy!
Thank you Dinah! @pandorasecho Thank you Dixie! I'm glad they were good memories.
@gardenfolk @sarah19 @peterday @golftragic @robz @sangwann @henrir
Thank you CC, Sarah, Peter, Marnie, Rob, Dione and Henri!
If they don't know you have them yet Sarah, it's probably because they don't have any "ant food" on them yet. As noted by Dione, this is just the bud. The flower has not opened yet. Apparently bugs like aphids also like Peonies and ants like those buds. So the reason why they crawl all over the Peonies is because that's where they find food. In a way they are Nature's own pesticide.
@bkbinthecity @mittens @thistle @helenhall @cruiser @haskar
Thanks Brian, Marilyn, Joyce, Helen, Chris, and Haskar! I appreciate your views and comments! I'm not sure I'll be back when this one is in full bloom but there have been plenty of them posted on 365 once they've opened. I may have one myself in some other year. They are a rather large and "fluffy" blossom.
@pyrrhula Thanks Ferry- did a little search based on your info and had fun learning about the myths and facts surrounding ants on Peonies.
@carole_sandford @radiogirl @digitalrn @caterina
Thank you Carole, Kathy, Rick and Caterina! And thanks so much for the fav Caterina!