Get The Buzz – Planting for Bees

There are many reasons why bees are so very important to us, but one fact really stands out to us and makes us appreciate how hugely important our buzzy friends are:

“It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination, mainly by bees, and it is often said that if bees died out, humans would follow just four years later.”

Wow! There you have it. So now do we have your attention?

The bees loving the echinops in our garden

Now we know you have heard lots of times that bees are on the decline and we are not here to bore you with the whys and whatnots of that. We simply want to share with you our Top Ten bee friendly plants to include in your garden which look great, are easy to look after and importantly, bees just LOVE. So next time you are down the garden centre or browsing online why not get yourself some of these beauties and know that you are doing your bit to keep the food on your plate?

First of all bees love diversity so make sure you have a few different options for them and also ones which are flowering at different times of the year to encourage them to keep coming back. Secondly, go for native plants wherever you can and ones which will thrive in your conditions. The more bees you attract into your garden the better your garden will grow too as many plants and vegetables rely on pollination.

1. Lavender

A favourite with so many of our clients. It loves dry, sunny positions so if you don’t have the correct sort of soil in your borders consider having a pretty pot filled with lavender on a sunny corner of our patio where you can enjoy the
sights, smells and buzzy sounds from it!

2. Catmint

Nepeta is loved by cats and bees alike! It is similar to lavender with its pretty flowers and silvery blue leaves and gives off a lovely aromatic scent as you brush past.

3. Verbena

We love verbena, particularly verbena bonariensis. It grows really easily, even in our heavy clay soil and gives statuesque height to the border. You may need to give the plant a bit of support if your garden catches the wind and be warned, this plant does like to self seed. It provides beautiful winter interest if it’s not cut down in Autumn.

4. Sedum

Another favourite in our garden and one which grows really easily and provides great structure to a mixed border. We love the dark red colour which appears late Autumn when the garden is starting to need a little bit of a boost and
continues to provide interest through the winter. It’s easy to split and create new plants so if you know a friend who has some then go ask for a piece now!

5. Eryngium

Bees love all thistle-like plants and it’s hard to choose from the array of wonderful, architectural plants. We love eryngium big blue but there are many beautiful varieties to choose from. Eryngium is another great plant for winter
interest if you don’t cut it down after it has flowered.

Bees on eryngium

6. Buddleja

Probably best known for attracting butterflies but bees are also partial to a buddleja. The long cone-like flowers prove too irresistible for them.

7. Sunflowers

Now, who can resist the big yellow smiley face of a sun flower? It’s the perfect plant to get kids involved in gardening. Get them to have a competition with their friends to see who can grow the tallest plant and use it to explain to them the importance of encouraging bees into the garden.

8. Hebe

Hebes are a great structural shrub which can be a lovely alternative to buxus in your garden if you are looking for a rounded shape to provide an interesting form. But bees love their flowers too making it a well rounded (excuse the pun) plant for the garden.

A bee on sedum

9. Foxgloves

We regularly see foxgloves growing profusely at the sides of the road so it shows just how easy they are to grow. They will self seed furiously so once you have them you will get free plants forever. Bees just love snuggling up inside one
of the bell like flowers and having a nice big feed.

10. Heathers

Again, a plant we often see growing in the wild in Scotland and if you have acidic soil in your garden you will be able to grow these well and keep our fuzzy friends happy.

If we have whetted your appetite, then there are literally THOUSANDS of plants* which bees will love and there will be plenty to suit your garden and soil. The perfect for pollinators list published by the RHS gives you more information than you could ever wish for.

If you want any advice on creating a bee or wildlife friendly garden please get in touch.

Happy planting!

Lulu & Tilda xx

* Honourable mentions also go to echinops and fennel. Both of these statuesque plants are magnets to bees as well as being stunning plants to add some height and structure to a garden.

The Bees Knees

Hi, it’s me, Lulu, The Secret Blogger again! So, the bees knees. What a funny saying. I mean, do bees even have knees? And if so, why are they so good? Anyway, knees or not, bees are very good things. And not just because I can say the word “bee” very well plus I can do a good impression of a buzzy bee! We need bees for lots of reasons…

Bees on eryngium

Why Bees Are Important

Bees pollinate a wide range of crops, vegetables, fruits and plants

Without bees crops will be reduced and we wouldn’t have enough to eat (1)
Without bees plants wouldn’t survive
Without bees birds will be left without sufficient food

It’s important we encourage bees into our garden. There are lots more plants that bees like and M&D have listed their top ten favourites here. If we all plant a few of these in our gardens it will make a huge difference and that will be the “bees knees” 😉

Echinacea is popular with bees

To celebrate the humble bumble why don’t you ask your mummy and daddy to help you make your own bumble bee? I love this project as it’s suitable for kids of all ages:

Fingerprint Bumblebees

You will need:

Yellow paint
Black paint
Paper or card

How to make your bumble bee:

Cover your thumb in yellow paint.
Press your thumb on to a piece of paper at whatever angle you want your bee to be flying.
Dip your little finger into black paint.
Gently dot on a head and make an even smaller dot for the sting at the back of your bee.
Make three side by side dots (about the same size as the sting) in the middle for the black stripe.
Put your index finger into the black paint. Stamp many times onto a piece of scrap paper or paper towel until almost all the paint is gone. Then stamp a wing above the body at a slight angle and a second wing above the body at an opposite angle.

Make a bumble bee from finger prints

So, even when you are indoors you can have your very own cheery bumble bee! Thanks to the crafty people at DLTK for this idea.

I will leave the last word to a man called Albert Einstein. He was very clever, just like my Mummy.

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

Lulu

1. I have a lot of friends who like their food a LOT and they wouldn’t be happy if there wasn’t enough to go round. Mentioning no names. Euan 😉