The Earth Laughs In Flowers

Overall, nature has the most spectacular designs, but I believe that flowers are its greatest representatives. Their best work? The angiosperms (scientifically Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta). They are a diverse group of flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within a fruit, representing roughly 80% of all known living green plants. They include flowering plants, shrubs, grasses, and most broad-leaved trees. Angiosperms produce fruit as part of their reproductive cycle, as it is a defining characteristic of this group to enclose their seeds within a protective vessel (the ripened ovary). However, this does not mean all angiosperms produce fleshy, edible fruit like apples or berries. While biologically all flowers on angiosperms are designed to produce fruit upon successful fertilisation, many do not due to lack of pollination, dioecious nature (separate male/female plants), or environmental stress causing blossom drop. This means that without pollinators, we would not have most of the food we eat, and our kind would struggle deeply (we would not survive). 

Although other flower-growing plants don’t produce fruit, they are still crucial to bees' survival, and those are the nectariferous plants, as they possess specialised glands known as nectaries to produce this sugary reward for pollinators. Those specifically attracting honeybees are often referred to as melliferous. These nectar-producing flowers are crucial for supporting bees, butterflies, and other insects, often featuring nectar at the base of the flower, but if you really want to give pollinators the best nature has to offer, go with NATIVE nectar-producing or wild edible plants. 

• Native plants and bees share a detrimental, co-evolved relationship that sustains biodiversity and food webs. 

• Native bees are often more effective at pollinating native plants than non-native honeybees, as they are specifically adapted to the local flora. Approximately 90% of plant species require pollinators to reproduce, and native bees are vital to this process, ensuring the survival of local plant communities. By pollinating native plants, bees support the health of the entire ecosystem, including providing food for other wildlife and preventing soil erosion. 

• Native plants provide specialised, high-quality nectar and pollen, as well as essential nesting habitat for local bees, which are in turn four times more attractive to native bees than non-natives and more efficient pollinators. 

• Native plants have evolved in tandem with local bee species, providing the precise nutrition required for their larvae and adult health. Many native bees are specialists that rely on specific native plants for survival.

• Native plants, including trees, shrubs, and even bunchgrasses, provide crucial shelter and nesting materials, such as leaves for leafcutter bees or hollow stems for solitary bees.

• A variety of native plants ensures a consistent supply of food throughout the active season, which is critical for the lifecycle of pollinators. 

Planting native species and wild edible plants creates healthy, resilient, and biodiverse ecosystems that support both bees and the broader food web. The relationship is so strong that some native bees cannot effectively utilise non-native plants. Therefore, incorporating native plants in gardens is essential for protecting native bee populations, and here is where we come in. 

A plant is native if it has occurred naturally for thousands of years in a region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. These plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, meaning that many native animals are dependent on these particular species to survive and thrive. Native plants are always the best bet when it comes to supporting local wildlife, but although they did not rely on human introduction, they might now need us to bring them back to where they rightfully belong. According to the National Wildlife Foundation, here are some reasons why we must support them:

• They are the foundation of the entire food web that all animal life relies on.

• They are essential host plants for many insects, including the caterpillars of butterflies and moths, which themselves are an extremely important part of the web as well as pollinators.

• They thrive in the soils, moisture, and weather of your region, which means less supplemental watering and fertilising.

• They often have deeper root systems, which help reduce watering needs, manage rainwater runoff, and maintain a healthy soil structure.

• They can sequester more carbon by taking it out of our atmosphere and storing it in the soil through their deep root systems than many non-native ornamental garden plants do.

• They are less prone to pest problems that may require toxic chemicals that can enter our ecosystems and waterways.

• They provide a sense of place and space that ties our gardens to the unique regional natural history of the land where we live and honours the importance of these species in Indigenous culture.

• They support birds, pollinators and other wildlife that are under increasing stress from climate change. Native plants provide the best possible habitat for native wildlife.

Sadly, native and wild edible plant depletion is driven by a combination of human-induced environmental changes, with habitat loss, agricultural intensification, and the spread of non-native species being the primary drivers. While learning about Spain’s Forestry Strategy for 2050, I found the Conservation and Improvement of Natural Heritage, Biodiversity, and Connectivity, which states:  

Given the challenges posed by climate change and globalisation in the proliferation of invasive alien species in forest habitats, progress must continue in actions to control and eradicate invasive alien species, focusing on the early detection of species presence, research on new control methods, and strengthening programs for the species with the greatest impact. All of this as a preliminary step and the elaboration (within the Committee on Wild Flora and Fauna of the State Commission for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity –CEPNB–) of new strategies for the management, control and possible eradication of invasive alien forest species, and within the framework of the application of the Action Plan on the pathways of introduction and spread of invasive alien species in Spain, approved in 2021 by the CEPNB in ​​compliance with Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014.

There is a legitimate concern about protecting biodiversity, and we are determined to support their efforts by promoting life-saving plants, and hopefully, you will be part of it. You can still have wonderful gardens without having to sacrifice our planet. Besides, what could be more beautiful than a green space full of happy pollinators? It is a win-win situation for all of us!

Lavender at Turia Garden!

One of most beautiful and nave Spanish flowers. The Iris.

The Borage, the superfood for bees.