Alice Spenser-Higgs

GARDENING for bees has become a huge trend globally. It is estimated that 50% of the bee population in northern Europe is extinct.

The declining number of bees affects us because 70% of food we eat depends on being pollinated by bees, and if one considers beef, pork, lamb and chicken production, those animals also depend on beepollinated foodstuffs.

In selecting bee-friendly plants, have you ever considered single roses? With their exposed stamens and pistels, the pollen is always fresh and the bees love it.

“We always see bees buzzing among our single roses,” says rose grower Ludwig Taschner, “but they tend to ignore the fuller petalled roses because by the time they open the pollen is old.”

This long weekend, which includes Worker’s Day on May 1, will feature a display of single roses at Ludwig’s Rose Farm, north of Pretoria.

Even before May Day was declared the day of labour activity in 1886, May Day was celebrated as the start of spring, with festivals featuring mayflowers and Dog roses (Rosa canina), the common European hedge rose that is the first to flower.

The Dog rose and all other single roses have five petals, and although they do not last quite as long as full petalled flowers they are replaced much quicker and always have a fresh look. They also attract butterflies.

Bees gravitate towards yellow, white or blue flowers and although there are no blue roses, there are white, yellow and pale pink single roses that act as a magnet for bees.

“Single White” is a self-cleaning, low maintenance shrublet that produces clusters of single white flowers. It has a spreading growth, ideal for covering large sunny areas of the garden, or for planting in front of “Iceberg”. It performs well in a large container too. Winter annuals that bees love are Iceland poppies and calendulas, and both are ideal for adding colour to rose beds, especially after the