Trees:
Shrubs
Plants
There are some pollen producing trees but I haven't been able to identify them yet.
Flowers seen in bloom in the last few days around Oxford and Headington:
Plants
Trees
I've started to see a couple Dandelions. They'll be in force soon.
Seen in flower in the last day or two:
Now finished:
Mostly finished
Ivy is a major late crop for bees. There is a lot available around Oxford and the bees love it.
The problem for bee keepers is that the Ivy honey sets very hard and doesn't taste nice. The taste is not much of a problem because the honey won't spin out in an extractor but the hard set makes it less useful in Winter for the bees.
Honey which sets releases water during crystallisation which can ferment inside the cell. Apparently the fermented liquid can give the bees Dysentry.
I smelled the first scent of Ivy flowering today. There was also appeared to be a bit more activity at the hive entrances. There is a lot of Ivy around Oxford.
The buttercups have finished.
The trees have finished their blossom: Hawthorn and Horse Chestnut.
In their place there is abundant Buttercup and Elder in flower.
There are also very many varieties of hedgerow wild flowers (seen near Stanton Harcourt). I've seen daisies, climbing roses and different Umbilifers. I doubt whether many of these are within the forage area of either of my apiaries.