Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,
Totally off topic for this forum, I know but I think by now we must all be aware that our Bees are in trouble and most will realise that if they (worst case scenario) become extinct, then we, as a species, will have a tough time of it, to say the least.
Well I try to keep a nature friendly garden, with ponds and a relatively diverse eco-system and watching Gardeners World the other evening prompted me to look into British plants that are Bee friendly and readily available (if you look for them).
In doing so I came across this site, link below, on which the front page lists plants, either native to or readily available in the UK, which are good for the Bees (and other pollinators).
I'm therefore encouraging people on here who have gardens but might not of thought of it before to look these out and buy some, I'm sure there are items listed on there that will suit most peoples gardens / tastes.
I'm pleased to say that I already have some in the garden but I will now get more!
Happy planting.
Best wishes,
Mike.

PS. If you agree please share the site.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead ... IJg&adurl=

I have sixteen lavender shrubs of various types in both pots and borders in my garden.It seems that the colour purple and blue tend to be the best attraction for both the bee species and butterflies which are of course important pollinators together with all the species of hover flies which is said to be apparently the most prolific of all British insect pollinators.

We planted some of the suggested plants last year. Whether by coincidence or not, this year we have heath bees nesting under the garden shed

Pleased to say that we are inundated with bees at the moment. Slightly worried that some of them are not native species though

I think I will give encouraging bees a miss. They have made themselves at home in my garage under the compressor and did not take too kindly when I came to use it (not knowing at the time that they were there).

I leave a corner of my garden as nature intended for the benefit of all creatures. The thrushes go in there to find snails and keeps me amused for a while watching them bash it about to get the resident out of the shell. No shortage of bees here either.

Anyone watch "Spring Watch" a couple of weeks ago about the diminishing amount of birds in the British Isles?

Staggering!!

Loss of habitat by demand for more of their land and hunting in China and the Med by nasty people who can't see further than their wallet. Humans rule Ok !

POMMReg wrote:Anyone watch "Spring Watch" a couple of weeks ago about the diminishing amount of birds in the British Isles?

Staggering!!

I appear to have more birds in my garden this year than ever before.

As regards the bees - let the dandelions grow in your lawn apparently they are one of the first food bees seek after their winter hibernation.

There seems to be no shortage of bees around my runner bean flowers.

Anyone watch "Spring Watch" a couple of weeks ago about the diminishing amount of birds in the British Isles?
Staggering!!

Our native birds have also been on decline for some years now, if you are not a farmer and therefore in ownership of vast tracts of land where, if your conscience has been pricked, you can reinstate habitat and hedgerows that have been cleared for (over) intensive farming, or a building firm owner, who could build on 'Brownfield' sites instead of constantly ripping up and concreting over green fields / anywhere designated countryside, all you can do is feed the local wild bird population (home-made bird table etc.), put up nesting boxes etc........

Of course in the case of building firms it is cheaper and easier to build on an open undeveloped space than it is to clear a previously used 'brownfield' site, how can this be!?!
Surely the subsidies / fanancial incentives should be there to encourage the redevelopment of these sites across the country (for housing that is, not more office / warehouse space to sit empty for years!), leaving more of the countryside intact for our (endangered) wildlife.
Yet I am given to understand any subsidies / incentives that do exist encourage the opposite!!.............
(Rant over)

Where I live I am surrounded by fields containing both arable and beasts - nature in all its aspects seems to be thriving.
It has to be remembered that the country side is a working place and not just a place that visitors go to for the twee view. From my experience farmers and nature do seem to work hand in hand or adapt to each others needs because it is in both of their interest to do so.
Good husbandry of the land in all its aspects appears to be on the increase around me and certainly not the attitude of lets just grow as many cash crops as possible.
Housing nationally is a problem but people have to live somewhere and I agree that brown field sites should be developed more though to me land banking is more of a problem.

We can only do our little bit to help,and all the little bits add up.
Our funny,non native,bees seem too be tree bumblebees by the way. If Google is to believed.

philthehill wrote:

POMMReg wrote:Anyone watch "Spring Watch" a couple of weeks ago about the diminishing amount of birds in the British Isles?

Staggering!!

I appear to have more birds in my garden this year than ever before.

As regards the bees - let the dandelions grow in your lawn apparently they are one of the first food bees seek after their winter hibernation.

There seems to be no shortage of bees around my runner bean flowers.

My runner bean flowers are also under attack from the "leaf cutter bee" but I don't mind loosing the odd flower here and there to them. As for the first rich source of food nectar for bees the "contoneaster"plant [ not sure of the spelling ] is the first rich source and the polyps of the ivy are the last rich source.

Budgie its cotoneaster early evening the Bees love this shrub and it produces berries for the birds .Bees love Hebe and there favourite is clover which makes good honey .I put Bee friendly shrubs and plants in all the landscapes I do and encourage water features for wildlife newts frogs and toads .I don't agree with crop spraying which stunts flowering and gives the bees no habitat and without the bees farmers crops wouldn't have survived and neither would we

Join the fight to ban neonicotinoids
https://www.newscientist.com/article/21 ... ling-bees/

irmscher wrote:Budgie its cotoneaster early evening the Bees love this shrub and it produces berries for the birds .Bees love Hebe and there favourite is clover which makes good honey .I put Bee friendly shrubs and plants in all the landscapes I do and encourage water features for wildlife newts frogs and toads .I don't agree with crop spraying which stunts flowering and gives the bees no habitat and without the bees farmers crops wouldn't have survived and neither would we

Thanks irmsher, the first "a" was a slip of the finger .....but I still got it wrong anyway .

Budgie I wasn't criticising I sent a text [hope your spares are ok] and it came out predicted to hope your sores are ok .I found that very interesting moggiethouable farmers have a lot to answer for and think they are beyond the law with there chemical spraying.

My wife and I did a beekeeping course earlier this year and we've recently become "proper " beekeepers..
Spot the queen.......

Save bees but kill wasps - I just wiped out a nest... with glee

The queen - yellow spot on her head.