Did you know there are 250 bee species in the UK?
Bees are important pollinators as they play a critical role in pollinating trees and flowers maintaining healthy ecosystems, which are essential for food production.
Bees are worth £690 million per annum to the UK economy and more than three quarters of the world’s food crops are in part dependent on them. Yet bee populations are declining….
In the UK habitat loss and fragmentation combined with climate change are having a huge impact on bee populations.
Here are 5 top tips on how to be more ‘Bee friendly’ to help save bees and encourage them to thrive in the UK again.
- Grow a ‘Bee Friendly’ garden. Plant a range of flowers that bloom from March to October. Bees love traditional cottage garden flowers like foxgloves, buddleia, primrose and marigold. Bees really love large drifts of the same flowers and they make a wonderful display too. If you don’t have loads of space they would still be grateful of a window box.
- Make an insect hotel. Make a bug hotel with bamboo twigs and string. click this link for a how to make a bug hotel.
- Stop using pesticides. Pesticides are obviously very harmful to all garden insects and will interrupt the natural food chain. Embrace the weeds and leave an area of wild grasses dandelions and daisies for bees to enjoy.
- Provide a good source of water. Bees need water, add either a pond, bird bath or shallow pool which can collect rainwater, add some stones for a safe place for bees to enjoy some liquid refreshment.
- Make some bee-utiful friends. Use this link for an identifying chart, keep a list of the types of bees that visit your garden.
If you love all things Bee…I have a Facebook competition running with fellow trader Louise from Loose Ends Designs to win a bee-utiful giveaway prize. Click this link World Bee Day Competition Giveaway to enter, but bee quick competition closes on 14th May.
