GARDENING FOR BEES WITH THE CGS Bees are currently under heavy pressure from disease and habitat change, and numbers have declined drastically. This is bad news for plants and humans alike, since it affects plants' ability to set fruit and seed, and thus has a negative impact on our food sources and incomes. The poor apple harvest of 2012, resulting from a cold snap at flowering time which deterred bees, showed how important they are to us! Cottage gardeners are well placed to help bees, as by definition cottage gardens contain a wide range of plants, and the gardeners often prefer the type of plant bees like. The main thing we can do to encourage bees is to select garden plants which produce plenty of nectar. As a general rule, these are the simpler, more old- fashioned types of plant. A guide is that any plant which produces SEEDS (not just fruits, as these can be sterile) is probably a good bee plant. Highly-bred cultivars, especially doubles, are often sterile and do not produce much nectar, if any. Some good plants for bees are listed overleaf. Another point to bear in mind is that although bees hibernate during the winter, they (bumble bees especially) often appear quite early during warm spells, and at this time badly need a source of food. They will also work long into a mild autumn if food is available. Good early-flowering plants include Pulmonaria and other members in the same family such as Trachystemon orientalis and some types of Symphytum ('Hidcote Blue' and S. ibericum particularly), and the shrub Lonicera pileata, which has scarcely noticeable greenish flowers in February - but the bees find them! In cold areas Lonicera fragrantissima and L. x purpusii may still be in flower at this time. Primroses flower intermittently from autumn, and winter heathers are good. The vital autumn/winter nectar plant is ivy, often not allowed to reach flowering size in gardens as it can be a weed and a menace to trees. However, if you have an old wall (not the house!) or a strong fence or dead tree, do encourage it - trim it but let it form a bushy core that will flower. The bees will show their appreciation in your fruit and vegetable beds in summer. Parthenocissus, Boston ivy, is house-safe and nectar-rich, but summer-flowering. Bee plants Bees love the labiates (lavender, mint, thyme, oregano, salvias, agastache, stachys etc.) and plants in the Boraginaceae family (borage, pulmonaria, symphytum, anchusa, forget-me-not, echium etc). Almost all plants of the two families will attract them. Other good plants include the following: Annuals/biennials Scabious & Knautia Foxgloves Sedums Californian poppy Clover Cosmos Verbena bonariensis Sunflowers Veronica spp. (Speedwell) Sweet rocket Candytuft Shrubs & Trees Honesty Acers Mignonette Arbutus unedo (Strawberry tree) Berberis Perennials Buddleja globosa Alliums Cotoneasters Michaelmas daisies Cytisus spp. (Broom) Campanulas (singles) Hebes Thistles Bay Teasels Mahonia Globe thistles Malus spp. (Apple & crabapple) Eryngium (Sea holly) Pyracantha Snowdrops Ribes spp. (Currants) Hellebores (singles) Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box) Catmint Sorbus aucuparia (Rowan) Polemonium spp. (Jacob's Ladder) Willow Rudbeckia & Echinacea There are many others – see, for instance, the RHS website and check your seed catalogues, which now often give bee information. .