Bee numbers have been falling dramatically in recent years. The number of bees that have been seen has fallen by 10-15% and experts are worried this trend might continue. To help stop this why not plant some flowers in your garden that bees like?

The Importance of Beeing Helpful

It has been estimated that between 15%-30% of all fruit and vegetables that we eat have been pollinated by bees. Without the bees there wouldn't be enough food for people to eat so making sure their numbers remain high is very important. There are lots of things you can do to help in your own garden that can stop the decline in bee numbers by giving them somewhere to live and lots of flowers to visit.

What can you do?

Here are a few things you can do to help bees out and stop their numbers declining:

Use IPM Gardening Techniques - Putting lots of nasty chemicals on your plants can harm bees. Insecticides are used to get rid of insects that eat your plants, but they are also poisonous to bees. Try not to use these chemicals when gardening unless you really have to. If you do need to use them why not try using a natural insecticide like putting ladybirds on your plants that will eat the nasty bugs but will not harm the bees.

Plan your garden to be Bee-Friendly - The best thing you can do to help bees is give them lots of flowers they can visit for nectar so they can make honey for them, and us, to eat. Bees like to have lots of different flowers close together so that they do not have to fly very far. Try planting large flower beds or borders around the edge of your garden. Once the bees have found your garden they will then tell all their friends to come as well, your garden will become the coolest bee hang out in the neighborhood! You don't need to make your garden neat to attract bees; they like having lots of different heights to fly to, which will save you lots of work.

Have Flowers all Year Round - Make sure that when some flowers are dying out there are some others that are just coming into season. Ask us which plants will flower at what time to make sure there are flowers all year round so the bees don't go hungry!

It's Thirsty Work Being a Bee - Make sure there is somewhere bees can have a drink. They are too small to be able to drink from ponds or bird tables so putting a little water in a plate is the best way to help the bees out.

Plant the Kind of Flowers that Bees Like - Bees can only see certain colors and because of this are attracted to some flowers more than others. They particularly like blue flowers as they are very bright to a bee. Planting herbs such as thyme and mint not only smell nice to us but also to bees, other plants like lavender are also very good at attracting bees.