If everyone does a little bit we can help save the bees and other pollinators that are having such a hard time at the moment. Here are three ways to get involved and help safeguard these important members of the ecosystem.

1. kit chensbymiket aylor.co.uk http://www.kitchensbymiketaylor.co.uk/blog/2013/07/23/3-ways-we-can-all-help-bees/
3 Ways We Can All Help Bees
I’m sure by now everyone is aware of the plight of
bees. We’ve always taken insects for granted,
either ignoring them or hating them depending on
whether they’re biting, stinging or just being pests.
But in recent times not so many of us have realised
just how much we rely on them. It’s only when you
understand that up to a third of our food production
depends on pollinating insects such as bees that
we start to grasp just how fragile the environment is
and how easily we can upset the natural balance.
We create beautiful kitchens, and we know you
appreciate having a wonderful kitchen to cook, eat
and entertain in. But where would we be without all
the glorious variety of natural foodstuffs that help
make our kitchens such creative and welcoming places?
Thankfully, it’s not too late. There are lots of things we can do to help bees, and
hopefully go some way towards tipping nature’s balance back in their favour.
Phone App
The Waitrose Bee-Friend Your Garden app for iPhone and Android smartphones
allows us to take part in a Citizen Science project for research undertaken by the
University of Sussex. The aim is to collect as much data as possible from around the
country to better understand which plants attract pollinators. To download the bee
app and take part in this vital research, please click the links above to go to either
iTunes or Google Play.
Open a Bee Hotel

2. Bee House from Not On The High Street
Linnaria Canon J Went
Open a Bee Hotel
Bees need somewhere to live, just as we
do. With the destruction of so much of
their natural habitat having an impact on
the population and speeding up their
decline, we can help by creating
alternative living arrangements for them.
It’s not too hard to make a bee house
that’s suitable for solitary bees, but if
you’re not crafty or simply don’t have the
time, then grand, ready-made hotels and
apartments are available. Most look like
variations of this one, from Not On The
High Street.
Bee-Friendly Plants
In the Ground
Cultivated plants may look wonderful with their showy blooms and vibrant colours,
but you may notice the bees and other pollinating insects don’t always think too
highly of them.
Herbs and heathers, wildflowers and old fashioned
flowering plants such as snapdragons,
cornflowers, lavender and foxgloves are the ones
bees love. Or you could grow Linnaria, a lovely old-
fashioned looking plant with tall pink spires.
Cottage gardens are very much in fashion again,
which is great news for bees if we all plant just a
few cottage style plants.
In Planters and Tubs
Maybe you don’t want to give over some of your
garden to bee-friendly planting, or maybe you don’t
have the spare space. The good news is that it’s
possible to create a beautiful feeding station for
bees by planting in tubs. You get a gorgeous show
of colour and greenery right where you want it, and
the bees get to harvest the nectar just as easily as they do from plants in the ground.

3. All kinds of bee-friendly plants are equally as good in pots as in the earth, with herbs
being a particularly good example. Try growing chives, marjoram or oregano. If you
like an abundance of bright flowers, grow nasturtiums. You can eat the leaves and
the flowers.
Here’s an excellent resource from the RHS on growing herbs in containers if you
fancy giving it a go.
Are you helping to save the bees? We’d love to hear your take on the subject.