WALNEY VISITOR CENTER - PART 3 - WHAT'S GROWING IN THE GARDEN?

Before we went away I didn't have time to share our last visit to the Walney Visitor Center. Those posts are here and here.  We found the garden gate unlocked on our second visit, so we were able to look around.  

The information on the garden and its contents was right next to the entrance.

Above are the fruit trees and below you can see the tobacco plants I mentioned in my previous post.

The Corn was nearby.

I am not sure what this little bird is.  Does anyone know?  Gregg took the photo.

I am wondering whether its coloring was a trick of the lighting.  We went when the sun was high overhead, rather than the late evening of the previous visit.  It was very evident that the time for taking photos is either in the early hours or the late afternoon when the sun is going down.  We didn't mind because the butterflies and bees were abundant, and very interesting to watch.

I don't know much about Lemon Balm and the pretty flowers growing next to them attracted a lot of white butterflies and bees.  The ID marker said they were called Anise Hyssop and it is a deer resistant plant.

The flutter bug is a Cabbage White Butterfly.  You have to scroll down the page on the link to see their photographs.

Local residents from the nearby beehive were  enjoying them too, and other bees from out of town.  If you go to this link it has 20 very interesting Honey Bee facts.

I was surprised but happy to see the Thai Basil.

Thai Basil and Italian Basil were growing side by side.  We are fans of both herbs, but ever since we discovered how much we enjoyed Thai dishes and making our own, we love Thai Basil.  It was very difficult to come by years ago, but now we have a local Asian supermarket where it is always in stock.   The difference in taste is such that you would never mix the two herbs for Thai or Italian cuisine.  Thai Basil has more of a licorice taste and has a much stronger flavor.  I like to eat a couple of leaves right after washing them, before being putting into a recipe.  I use Italian basil whenever I make a spaghetti sauce.

The tomato plants were looking very healthy.

Recently we were given fresh, home-grown tomatoes from a friend's garden.  Nothing like getting them that fresh is there?

And that was our look around the garden.  I took a few photos of the bees just across the way.  No, I wasn't that close as I used the long lens on our camera.

The bees were making their way into the hive.

Thank you for taking that virtual walk with us and have a great weekend.  I will be back on Monday with a recipe.