
Celebrate World Bee Day
It's 20 May and that can only mean one thing… It's World Bee Day! Here are six things you can do in your garden to keep these vital garden visitors happy.
Create a wildlife garden

Get started on creating a real 'wildlife garden'. Improve habitats for pollinating insects like bees and butterflies and use the best plants and flowers to help attract them into your outside space. We show you how and answer common questions like what does 'pollinator-friendly' mean?
Find out more about creating a wildlife garden here.
Plant bee-friendly plants

The best way to encourage pollinators into your garden is to plant some bee-friendly plants. From flowers, such as echinacea and clematis, to grasses, such as Carex elata 'Aurea', there is a huge variety of plants you can incorporate into your planting scheme to attract more bees and butterflies to your patch.
Find out more about bee-friendly plants here.
Grow bee-friendly container displays

If you have a small garden or a balcony and want to attract pollinating insects like bees and butterflies, this container display has been planted with bee-friendly plants, including orlaya and poppies, and would suit an outside space of any size. The display is created by gardener Julia Wylie, who specialises in naturalistic planting schemes.
Find out more about bee-friendly container displays here.
Don't mow your lawn for a while

It's not too late to take part in No Mow May, a national campaign encouraging us to let our lawns re-wild and bloom with dandelions, daisies and other pollinator-friendly wildflowers. The perfect excuse to put your feet up and give your lawnmower a rest for a few weeks.
Find out more about No Mow May.
Splash out on the perfect home for bees

Encourage the bees in your garden by investing in one of these brilliant bee hives. They come in a variety of designs to encourage everything from solitary bees to honey bees, making your garden a go-to location. A quality bee hive will provide a lasting useful home for your garden guests year in year out.
Find more garden bee hives in our round-up.
Read up and get environmentally savvy

Do Bees Need Weeds from the RHS is a great place to start. It's a compendium of practical and comprehensive advice that will help you to garden in sustainable and environmentally friendly ways. Reviewed here by plantsman John Hoyland.
Authors

Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest home and entertainment brands in the world. He is a serial house-renovator and home improvement expert, taking on everything from interior design and DIY to landscape gardening and garden design.

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