How to create a buzz in the garden

Planting foxgloves and letting the lawn grow long are British gardeners’ favourite ways to help bees.

The Bee Creative in the Garden! campaign, run by the Royal Horticultural Society and the Wildlife Trust, is getting a positive response from nature lovers keen to create havens for wild bees.

A poll of those taking part showed 47 per cent preferred foxgloves as a bee-friendly plant, while 25 per cent chose sunflowers.

Any open flower, such as daisies, or lollipop-like plants such as scabious or thistles, are ideal for attracting honey bees. Bumblebees are better suited to funnel flowers, such as foxgloves.

Gardeners said letting grass grow long also helped. Other ways to help bees include putting out a dish of water filled with pebbles to provide a safe drinking place and avoiding pesticides.

Samantha Herbert