Bees in the Apple Blossom (gouache style)

Apples belong to the rose family, and their blossom gives it away: five petals, a tuft of stamens and a light, sweet scent. Buds are usually pink and open to white or pale blush, in clusters with a central king flower that opens first. Most varieties can't set a good crop with their own pollen, so they need another variety flowering at the same time nearby. Nurseries sort them into pollination groups to make matching easier.

Apple blossom usually opens from mid-April into May, which is when solitary bees are at their busiest. Red mason bees and tawny mining bees are both good apple pollinators, so a bee hotel on a sunny wall and a patch of bare, undisturbed soil can help. Avoid spraying while trees are in flower. Bare-root trees go in between November and March, and winter pruning happens in the same dormant window. A crab apple nearby can pollinate many varieties.

This picture stays close to one orchard branch, where small bees move between pink and white apple blossom. It's a short stretch of spring, often just a couple of weeks, and what happens on branches like this decides the size of the autumn crop. Showing the bees at work, and not the blossom alone, keeps the focus on what makes the fruit possible.