Helping bees will have you buzzing...
Get busy and make your garden bee friendly with their favourite flowers and easy projects to boost their flagging numbers
Bees are in crisis – and we can do so much to help them. Recent years have seen a drastic decline in bee populations, as a result of a perfect storm of different factors.
They may be tiny but bees are essential to a healthy environment and healthy economy – one in every three mouthfuls of food we eat depends on pollination.
Without these little insects, experts warn that British farmers would have to spend £1.8bn a year to artificially pollinate crops.
Bees are utterly amazing, too. They were around at the same time as the dinosaurs – that’s some 95million years before humans were on the scene.
While they are searching, they are also providing a free service by pollinating your plants, fruit and vegetables.
There are about 250 species of bee in the UK. Sadly, since 1990, 20 species have been lost, according to Friends of the Earth, which fears another 35 are vulnerable.
Luckily, as a nation we love bees and gardeners have been increasingly trying to help them.
I’m fortunate enough to have four bee hives at my home in Warwickshire. They are surprisingly easy to keep in a garden or on a rooftop.
If you’re interested in getting started, contact the British Beekeepers Association (bbka.org.uk). It will provide advice, training and even a ment o r while you are learning the ropes.
But if keeping your own bees is not possible, there’s lots you can do in your garden or on your balcony or patio to help keep Britain’s bees busy. For starters, make sure there is a fresh supply of water. This could be a birdbath or pond. But leaving your outdoor tap dripping slowly provides an ideal drinking fountain for bees. Once they know where it is, they will top up when they are passing. Use garden pesticides sparingly or not at all. If you have to use them, look for organic brands that specifically state they don’t harm bees or other garden insects. Bee - friendly plants can be some of the most dramatic and colourful in the garden. And there are some fabulously unusual choices too. Sedums, foxgloves