The cool and sometimes wet spring has encourage the dreamsicle-orange flowers of Desert Globemallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, to perform spectacularly. This pollen-rich, simple-petaled bloom attracts a number of different pollinators, but my honeybees are big fans of the flowers, certainly all-in with the bounty of the beautiful blooms.

Bees land in the blooms, dig in, and roll around the golden glory, exiting the flower with a good sprinkling of pollen as they make their way to other flowers and eventually back to the hive.

The Globemallow is a cool season bloomer, producing its showy flowers until summer’s heat sets in. If a significant June or July rain event occurs, the shrub is happy to deliver another dose of orange crush, much to the pollinators’ appreciation and the gardener’s delight.