Be kind to bees

Our vitally important honeybees have taken a lot of knocks in recent years, so it pays to be kind to bees. This poor little worker was suffering from cold and exhaustion this morning (not an uncommon sight early in spring) but was soon up and buzzing again once she'd had her fill of a drop of honey.

One of the easiest (and very pleasant) ways to be kind to bees is to plant lots of flowers. A nice mix of just about anything flowering will do - just try to get a succession of things flowering throughout the year to keep them around. Some flowers make better meals than others though, so if you're keen to host more honeybees try planting borage, phacelia, calendulas, hollyhocks, foxgloves, lavender, poppies, alyssum, buckwheat, rosemary... to name just a few.

They'll also have the added benefit of feeding beneficial insects like parasitic wasps, which sound rather scary but are actually the gardener's best friend. These tiny insects, harmless to humans (and bunnies!), will help control aphid infestations, using methods rather remeniscent of Alien and best not thought about too carefully, really...

So plant a platter of goodies for our friends the bees - and all the other beneficial insects - and they'll reward you with better and healthier harvests. Who could ask for better friends than that?