Tower of Red, Pollen of Blue
Honey bees can't get enough of the Tower of Jewels, Echium wildpretii.
Wildpretii? Sometimes you feel like addingan extra "t" and remove an "i." It's pronounced "wild-PRET-ee-eye."
A towering, flowering biennnial plant in the family Boraginaceaes, it's named for the 19th century Swiss botanist Hermann Josef Wildpret (1834–1908). Origin: the Canary Islands, Spain. It's predominant around Mount Teide in Tenerife.
The Tower of Jewels is reminiscent of a Christmas tree, with its bright red flowers. Towering, yes! In our pollinator garden, it grows up to 10 feet or so. When in full bloom, It becomes a tower of bees.
It promises to brighten your yard, and perhaps, your outlook on life, as you watch the bees gather blue nectar and head back to their colony.
"Blue pollen?" the hive bees must wonder as the worker bees return with blue pollen. "Where did you get that? And could you get some more?"
"Definitely," say the worker bees, perfecting their waggle dances.
Cover image: Honey bee packing blue pollen on Tower of Jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)