flowers

I realized that last summer, part of my tomato production problem might have been due to poor pollination. To counter this possibility this summer, I made sure to include a few flowers in the roof garden. The red ones are rudebeckia, a relative of black eyed susans, that I had planted last summer. The plant put out 2 ugly flowers way at the end of the summer. I had forgotten to pull it out while cleaning up the end of season debris, and when I went up this spring, the plant was a foot tall and had flower buds on it. It has since matured and given me many lovely flowers for my vases and birthday bouquets!

The lavender was at Paul's request. I was happy to acquiesce because I was hoping that the strong perfume of the leaves would help draw pollinators to the roof. I am not sure if my flower strategy worked or if the bees have just figured out that there is a garden up there, but I have been seeing quite a number of my favorite winged friends....