I had to share this post by Daniel Cartwright, Head Gardener at Winterbourne House and Garden, an Edwardian historic house and garden in Birmingham, which is basically in the centre of England.

He shares his top 3 tips for attracting and supporting healthy bees

Choosing flowers for bees:

• Take careful consideration of the shape of bloom in the flowers you choose. He explains how to do this in his post.
• Put in lots of perennial flowers with long bloom times and try to find some plants that have two bloom seasons!
• Look for plants that can extend your flower offering to bees well into fall and winter.

He has some intriguing suggestions for finding plants that flower when most other plants have long since given up, including ivy! Take a read at his blog, first posted May 6th. The link is below.

Bee-friendly plants — Winterbourne House and Garden

By Head Gardener, Daniel Cartwright

Bees – and other pollinators – are so important to the garden and wider environment. We need bees to pollinate the plants we eat and all the other trees and flowers that make up the various habitats needed to support life. 476 more words

Bee-friendly plants — Winterbourne House and Garden