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There's a wildflower/weed in my garden that the bees love - but what is it?

WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 241
in Wildlife gardening
We had a bright yellow wildflower growing at the edge of our lawn this year that the bees loved. I'd like to encourage it and/or add some more to help the bees out if possible, as our lawn doesn't seem to actually support grass very well anyway but "weeds" love it. I am not worried about having a tidy lawn, as everything grows too much in the summer months for me to keep on top of it anyway, and I'd rather support as much biodiversity of wildlife in my little garden as I can.

I am thinking it must related to clovers or trefoils, but it's not something I've ever seen before. Can anybody tell me what it is? Thank you.




Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,262
    That looks like black medick.  I've got some at the edge of my lawn, too, in a sunny patch.   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,913
    edited January 2021
    Yes trifolium dubium aka black medick

    http://www.english-country-garden.com/flowers/lesser-yellow-trefoil.htm

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 241
    @Liriodendron and @Dovefromabove, that's wonderful, thank you for your help! I was pleased to see how many bees we got this year, seeing as we'd started out with a blank garden bereft of any plants, but I would love to encourage even more if I can. And hopefully butterflies and moths, too - we had cabbage whites, cinnabars, gatekeepers, and mint moths this year, but the more the merrier.
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