What to plant for bees

Seems not a day goes by without a new piece of evidence, or counter-evidence, on the effect of neonicotinoids on our declining bee population. While a ban on their use is now in place, there's no room for complacency and it's still important that we all do our bit to encourage these vital pollinators into our gardens.

Start by building or installing a bee hotel, and then grow the right plants to match their lifecycle. Typically, aim to use plants that provide a successive food source from February to November. So, if you've built the hotel and now want to stock a nectar bar, here just a few ideas of what to plant to let the bees know the bar's open!

There are a few simple pointers to consider when designing borders for bees:

• Plant in bold blocks and be sure to pick a sunny, rather than a shady, spot. 
• Choose plants with single flowers rather than doubles so that it's easy for the bees to get at the pollen. 
• If you must use pesticides, do so sparingly and only in the evenings when bees are less active.

    

There are lots of bee-friendly perennials to choose from including hellebores, lupins, aquilegia, nepeta, anemone, gereanium and sedum to name but a few. Think about when your chosen plants will flower, ensuring that there is something throughout the flowering season, from early spring with heavenly hellebores to anemones in late summer into autumn.

      

When it comes to shrubs, nothing quite beats lavender, a cottage favourite, but you could also go for something larger like escallonia, which has wonderfully fragrant leaves, and buddleia globosa. Also, try and include some native shrubs such as the architectural mahonia aquifolium. And don't forget a liberal smattering of seasonal bulbs and corms such as alliums, nectaroscordium siculum, bluebells and snowdrops.