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I blog about nature in the Norfolk countryside and about my wildlife garden.

Honeysuckle or Woodbine

Honeysuckle aka Woodbine or Lonicera. I saw it in my front garden, right by my doorstep. While I traced it I noticed the one long stamen on the open flower, and the long tubular shape of the flower.

I picked it because I found the tube shapes interesting and it was just coming into flower. It made me feel proud of my garden and I enjoyed how beautiful the colours and shapes were.

It brought to mind Shakespeare, because I remembered it's mentioned in a few scenes in his work. This turned out to be in A Midsummer Nights Dream which is fitting as its kind of midsummer, temperature-wise at least!

I also wondered why the tubes are so long because it makes it harder for a lot of insects to pollenate it. Only ones with very long tongues can. I guess it just evolved that way to appeal to particular species.