Castle nectar

DAY 62 (6 JUNE) – Meadow clary (Salvia pratensis) (Farnham Castle, England)

What first caught my eye at Farnham Castle today was the natural beauty of these wildflowers against the castle walls – which look like sandstone…

… and then I saw the bees – everywhere. According to the Bee Happy Plants website, meadow clary is a real bee favourite, but especially among long-tongued bumblebees – presumably because they have to reach far down the flower heads to find the nectar.

This native perennial wildflower usually grows in chalk and limestone areas, in grassland, woodland borders or ‘rough places’. Sadly, though, it is classified as ‘Near Threatened’.