I am currently obsessed with bees. Especially bumble bees, with their fluffy bottoms.
I have always been quite fond of them, but then I watched Great British Food Revival with Ainsley Harriott, and he was championing honey, and of course, bees. And the programme showed someone who kept bees on the roof of their flat. An actual hive!
Of course, being the rational realist that I am, I didn't immediately scour the internet to find out about bee-keeping. *ahem*
Anyway, bees are fascinating creatures, but many species are dying out (find out more about this on The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website). And even if we can't all keep bees in our gardens (curse you, tiny suburban garden!), we can do something to help. Even if you only have a window box, or balcony, you can grow a pot or two of plants which will attract bees. Check out these pretties...
Borage - beautiful blue, slightly alien-looking flower which is edible and are lovely floating in summer drinks like Pimms.
Rosemary - yummy in food, and yummy to bees. Actually, quite a few herbs are popular with bees (e.g. sage, mint and thyme), so if you like to cook, grow some herbs in your garden and help bees as well.
Bumblebee in my garden last year
Of course, being the rational realist that I am, I didn't immediately scour the internet to find out about bee-keeping. *ahem*
Anyway, bees are fascinating creatures, but many species are dying out (find out more about this on The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website). And even if we can't all keep bees in our gardens (curse you, tiny suburban garden!), we can do something to help. Even if you only have a window box, or balcony, you can grow a pot or two of plants which will attract bees. Check out these pretties...
Borage - beautiful blue, slightly alien-looking flower which is edible and are lovely floating in summer drinks like Pimms.
Borage flower - photo by PurpleGecko on Flickr
Pale pink geranium flowers - pretty, dainty, and beloved by bees:
Bloody Geranium - photo by Marylise Doctrinal on Flickr
Rosemary - yummy in food, and yummy to bees. Actually, quite a few herbs are popular with bees (e.g. sage, mint and thyme), so if you like to cook, grow some herbs in your garden and help bees as well.
Rosemary flowers - photo by m750 on Flickr
Oriental poppy. I'm a big fan of poppies, especially the bright red ones growing in fields and by the side of the road. But these peach ones are gorgeous too.
Oriental poppy - photo by beautifulcataya on Flickr
You can also find a list of ways you can help bees on the Help Save Bees site.
Comments
Post a Comment