Pollinating Insects

 Regular readers will know that 'Matron does not do flowers'  But the exception to that rule is to encourage pollinating insects to my allotment so that they can pollinate my vegetables!

 I planted some Limanthes - poached egg flowers a few years ago for just that reason. They self seed all over the place and come back year after year.

 The bees just love them and there is always a buzz around this patch.

 I always leave just a couple of each of the veggies I grow to set flower and go to seed.  Bees just LOVE vegetable flowers.  Here I have left some of my Swiss Chard to go to flower.  Just a few weeks more and that too will be covered in bees.

 Meanwhile I decided to plant out some of my Runner Beans.  These are special beans from Gwylym at  the Aeron Vale Allotment Society where he is attempting to breed a purple runner bean.  He has kindly given me some of these Purple Star seeds to grow and share.

Meanwhile all is not well in the tomato department.  ALL of my tomato seedlings are looking very sick.  They were fine till I transplanted them into pots now they are all bolt upright and not happy.  I will pot them on in bigger pots with fresh compost and see if that works.  Any ideas?