The Secret Lives of Garden Bees
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By Jean Vernon / January 25 2020
Jean Vernon reveals the secret world of garden pollinators
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Honeybee Swarms
In bee world, the honeybee is just one species of the 276 or so different bee species in the UK. Mostly they are domesticated creatures, kept in hives by beekeepers, but wild colonies do exist. In recent years there has been a huge rise in people starting to keep honeybees, sometimes in a misguided attempt…
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Orange Ball Buddleia
Buddleia globosa is a magnet for butterflies, bees and all pollinators that rely on nectar to fuel their activity.
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White-tailed Bumblebee
As spring starts in earnest you will start to see large, fluffy bees bombing around your gardens. You might hear them first as they resemble low flying helicopters as they navigate their way around foraging for food and surveying for a suitable nest site.
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Flowering Currant
(Ribes sanguineum) It’s not just perennials and spring flowering bulbs that are great bee plants, garden shrubs play an important role too. You need to look at the plant as a whole, especially when it is an established specimen. Flowering currants are a great bee plant. Take a close look at each cluster of rich…
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Early Bee Plants
What’s in flower for emerging bees in your garden? This is a critical time in bee world, late winter flowers are a vital food source Take a look around your garden? Are your crocuses flattened after the storms? Or have you still got drifts of snowdrops in flower? February and March are a tricky time…
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Bee Rescue
Have you found an exhausted, bedraggled bee that needs some help. You can try and save it, with this simple ‘Bee Rescue’ remedy
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Signs of Spring
The garden is starting to stir. The light is growing, the buds are swelling and the plants are sprouting into growth
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Perennial Borage
(Trachystemon orientalis) Keep your garden buzzing with the soothing sound of bees Don’t be put off by the botanical name of this plant. It is also known as perennial, or oriental borage and that’s a very fair description of this plant. It has clusters of soft mauve and white flowers that look very much like…
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The Buff-Tailed Bumblebee
In early spring, when out and about in your garden, look out for these fluffy flying golf balls, whizzing around the garden searching for nectar and pollen. They are loud and large and pretty unmistakable and start to emerge in February. These are the queens of this beautiful bumblebee and they are some of the…
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The Secret Lives of Garden Bees
A friendly, accessible insight into the weird, but wonderful world of the bees you may find in your garden. From the common or garden bumblebees that nest in bird boxes, compost heaps and old mouse holes, making ‘Winnie the Pooh’ style honey pots to feed their babes, to the quirky wool carder bee; a solitary…
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