Just what the bees need

11/06/2009

The British Beekeeper’s Association had a very timely show garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. The BBA show garden highlighted ways to attract bees and, with summer on the way, this is the crucial time for us to help honey bees replace the huge number of colonies they have lost over the last two years by planting up our gardens with nectar and pollen-rich flowers and trees.

 

Swarms that have access to a continuous supply of pollen and nectar throughout the summer form strong colonies by autumn and are much better equipped to resist pest and disease, and so survive winter.

 

The causes of the decline are still not entirely resolved, but the drop in the Honey Bee’s (Apis melifera) population has been at least partly brought about by climate change, as well as viruses and the Varroa mite that reached the UK in 1992. The end result is a scarcity of honey that, in turn, has resulted in the wholesale theft of hives around the country - otherwise known as ‘Bee Rustling’! This phenomenon seems to be growing but it would seem that the thieves have to have some bee keeping knowledge in order to be able to handle the hives to steal them.

 

According to the BBA’s Chelsea garden designer, one of the best ways to help the honey bee is to plant a succession of flowering trees.

 

For most of us this may not be feasible due to space or financial constraints, but perhaps there might be one tree amongst their recommended  trees that attract bees throughout the year that you might like to plant.

 

Flowering in February: Acacia dealbata   (mimosa), covered in pale 
yellow flowers, needs some shelter.

In March: Alnus cordata (Italian Alder)

For April flowers: Amelanchier lamarckii (Juneberry) In May Sorbus x arnoldiana (Rowan ‘Schouten’) is recommended

 

June favours Sorbus aria (whitebeam) and  Tilia tomentosa (Silver Lime).

July: Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut or the Spanish Chestnut)

Flowering during August: Koelreuteria paniculata, also known as the China Tree,

September: Tetradium daniellii, known as the  ‘Evodia’  or ‘Bee bee tree’

 

 

Image: Christopher Downs