If you want to have plenty of bees hover flies have Hypericum bushes mine are buzzing with red tail, white tail bees and all different kinds of hover flies.
I have seen barely a dozen bees to date in my Garden on the Isle of Wight even though I have built a good sized wildlife garden and spent a lot of money on buying lots of bee friendly plants.
I live in County Durham and have an allotment garden which we have had for many years. When we first took it over there were plenty of honey bees to be seen but sadly I now only see the odd one or two, though we do have plenty of different bumble bees in our back yard and allotment garden. We leave some honey nettles for them and also have fox gloves, lupins, roses etc and tend to have flowers throughout the whole summer for them. They are also very fond of broad bean flowers.
I have a bees nest in the garden nearly every year n at the beginning of the year this year was no exception, but it seems to have been neglected. This is nothing strange, quite often the early nests r abandoned. There r bees in the garden...one flew down the front of my tee shirt this morning...(don't worry we both live to tell the tale) but there r definitely less bees this year n less variety. However there do seem to be more butterflies...flutterbies...as Shakespeare apparently called them.
Plenty of hover flies. a few bees and butterflies the bees and hover flies like the poppies we have got The hpericum bushes are getting over the best now but the hover flies and bees are still on them.
White tail bumblebees are two a penny in our garden at the moment. A few honey bees are coming in now. No butterflies, but plenty of orange underwing moths
Just a little later in the year the knapweed will be in flower. It is always covered in hover flies and bees but I haven't seen an over abundance of hover flies either.
I'd like to report it looks better in our garden as the weather has warmed up and leek started flowering. Still not much as last years but there is a buzz life out there.
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If you want to have plenty of bees hover flies have Hypericum bushes mine are buzzing with red tail, white tail bees and all different kinds of hover flies.
I have seen barely a dozen bees to date in my Garden on the Isle of Wight even though I have built a good sized wildlife garden and spent a lot of money on buying lots of bee friendly plants.
I live in County Durham and have an allotment garden which we have had for many years. When we first took it over there were plenty of honey bees to be seen but sadly I now only see the odd one or two, though we do have plenty of different bumble bees in our back yard and allotment garden. We leave some honey nettles for them and also have fox gloves, lupins, roses etc and tend to have flowers throughout the whole summer for them. They are also very fond of broad bean flowers.
Plenty of hover flies. a few bees and butterflies the bees and hover flies like the poppies we have got The hpericum bushes are getting over the best now but the hover flies and bees are still on them.
White tail bumblebees are two a penny in our garden at the moment. A few honey bees are coming in now. No butterflies, but plenty of orange underwing moths
Bee snack.
In the sticks near Peterborough
@gillian53. Wow! I feel encouraged now.
I'd like to report it looks better in our garden as the weather has warmed up and leek started flowering. Still not much as last years but there is a buzz life out there.