Niche & nest

29/01/2025

It’s time to finish the book on how to create beautiful flowering places for bees & other pollinators. Thank you to all of you who supported the Bee Happy Nursery & have planted pollen & nectar plants from here to Mallacoota & shared your knowledge & learnings with me🌼🐝🌼 I’ll keep you posted!

22/04/2023

My wild garden is shaded by many manna gums so finding plants that are both 🐝 forage and don’t mind some shade is tricky… but I do have great autumn forage with these swathes of plecthantrus….

The Nectar & Pollen Collection is open today 12 -4 , down by the Birrarung in Warburton.

Happy to chat about plant selection for your garden & building up your seasonal forage .

🐝

16/03/2023

We’re into flower power as well as well fed bees so it was delightful to visit the blue lotus water garden here in the upper Yarra…they close soon so don’t forget to squeeze in a visit!! Waterlilies are a great source of pollen for bees did you know! We’ll be open tomorrow 12 to 4 and it will be hot so you can have a dip in the Birrarung as well if you fancy… As well as plants full of nectar and pollen, our shop is full of mid century pieces ready for your autumn cocooning

10/03/2023

Salvias and sedums are species that add colour and warmth to your planting palette and provide nectar to bees. Both are known for their hardiness and are kind to budding gardeners. Salvias come in so many shapes and colours that if you have a spot in your garden to fill, you can always find a salvia to fill it with. Different species flower at different times of the year, so if you’re wanting to ensure foraging opportunities all year round, salvias are a great starting point for designing your garden. They are also quite easy to propagate from when you find a species that really flourishes in your garden, and would like to repeat plant. The Pollen & Nectar Nursery is open today road warburton down by the Birrarung 12 to 4pm.
We have natives & edibles & exotics that are known for their pollen & nectar, and Jane is an experienced landscape designer & complete plant nerd, happy to help with plant choices for your particular garden.
Also to inspire your Autumn cocooning, there is a delightful array of mid century modern furniture, fabric, homewares & pottery in our wee shop.

09/03/2023

These purple scaveola with their fan shaped flower are a great example of how plants create flowers to entice pollinators. Their perfect purple landing pad for bees is a delight to watch….none of the normal hovering…the bees can just settle & gather their nectar…
If you’re wanting to fill your garden with plants that birds & bees love to feed from, drop into 21 Dammans Road, Warburton Saturday 12/4. In this cooler weather the bees are filling their combs ready to stay in and warm over the coldest months, so autumn forage is important. Likewise my collaborators have beautiful mid century modern furniture, lamps and other pieces to ensure your winter is as cosy and beautiful as can be….

08/03/2023

Women & flowers & foraging…I just wish aboriginal women with their plant knowledge had been given the same recognition at this time…

Flower hunter, intrepid explorer and internationally renowned artist, Marian Ellis Rowan was Melbourne’s most celebrated botanic artist of the 19th century. Queen Victoria owned three of her paintings and she won an astounding 29 medals at international exhibitions! Her male competitors were often jealous of her success, particularly when she was awarded the highest honours at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition. Some of them complained to the judges that flower painting, as a women’s art form, should be regarded as inferior to the more manly genres such as landscape. Undeterred by her detractors, Rowan continued adventuring throughout her lifetime, painting wildflowers, birds, insects and butterflies across the world, many of which were new to western science.

This portrait of Rowan was taken at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition.

Image citation: PROV, VPRS 840/P0000, Box2

03/03/2023

It’s going to bee a gorgeous day here in Melbourne. If you’re visiting Warburton drop into 21 Dammans Road, on the corner of Martyr Road, if you enjoy mid century modern, fabulous fabrics & fashion, or want more bee forage plants for your garden. We’re an afternoon adventure, open 12 - 4 and beyond in swimming season…
It’s a day for being down by the Birrarung….

02/03/2023

Hydrangeas are not known bee forage, but the cool wet 2022 year has provided amazing blossoms… they remind me of one of my aunties, Vera, who was the best gardener & chook keeper & showed me as a little girl how to put tea leaves on the hydrangea bush to keep them blooming blue…I hope you can remember when & how your interest in plants & gardens began….
The Pollen & Nectar Nursery will be open 12/4 Saturday @21 Dammans road warburton, down by the Birrarung. I’ll also have a display at the Summer Produce Market on Sunday, behind the Mechanics Institute, Warburton…

24/02/2023

A cool day, the moon is new & it’s time to be planting…our selection of plants are known for their pollen & nectar, or enjoy our cool temperate climate. Happy to share local knowledge & am always up for a yarn about our gardens, plants & pollinators.
There’s also a shop full of pottery & beautiful things to adorn & delight yourself with. Open 12 to 4 today. Pop in to the corner of Martyr Road & 21 Dammans Road, Warburton by the Birrarung.

17/02/2023

Cool days like this get you dreaming about your garden because the cooler months before winter are the best time to plant…we have beautiful antique & classic edible perennials, as well as indigenous & native plants known for their nectar & pollen.
Drop in today 12 to 4 , down by the Birrarung Yarra at Warburton.
We’ll get you inspired….

11/02/2023

Alliums are great bee forage, edible and often quite beautiful…. cups & table from 21 Dammans Road, Warburton. Great day to come & hang out & have a swim in the Birrarung! We’re open til 4.
🐝🐝🐝

09/12/2022

There are so many flowers that bees forage in…. at the Nursery I source as many bee forage plants that are long flowering. This native hibiscus if planted in full sun will flower all year….what a gift to our pollinators…the Nursery is open today 10/4 @21 Dammans Road Warburton, down by the Birrarung. See you in the sunshine…