Its all for the Bees

16.07.2023

Its July, flowers are abundant in the field and every single visitor says the same thing… ‘Look at all the bees!’.

We farm alongside nature, inviting all creatures great and small into our space and we reap the rewards. The pollinators are vital all year round but vital at certain times, like early spring, for pollinating the apple trees ensuring our orchard is productive and full of fruit.

It is such joy to see the bees, hoverflies and butterflies in the plot making use of the many different flowers we grow and knowing that as we do not use pesticides or insecticides that they will thrive here.

Pesticides and insecticides are lethal to bees or can cause them problems with flight, sense of smell and memory. Not things we would ever want to happen to our helpful bees!

We often get asked if we would have bee hives on the plot but for now we do not want to disrupt the natural bumble bee population or the wild honey bee hives that we have.

In one of the old oaks there is a thriving honey bee hive that must have the most incredible stash of the most delicious honey. Though it will never be eaten by us as I don’t fancy my chances dipping my hand into the unknown, however tempting it may be!

If you would like to invite more bees into your garden then there are some easy to grow flowers that they love that you can add to your garden. These are all perennials so will come back year on year.

Lavender, be sure to trim this at the end of summer for flowers year on year.

Hyssop another purple flower that has a lovely scent.

Eryngium, a beautiful blue, architectural plant that the bees love!

Great masterwort (Astrantia major) a favourite of mine for its stunning and long lasting flowers.

If you are interested in knowing more about bees then I can recommend having a looks at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website and their great resources to help you identify which bees are in your garden and how to encourage more!

Hattie x