How do I help bees in my garden?
Short answerIt dependsEstablished evidence
Mow less, plant for late winter and early autumn, and leave some bare undisturbed soil. Around seventy per cent of bee species nest in the ground, so a garden full of flowers with every square metre mulched or paved supports visitors rather than residents. Getting a beehive is not on this list and is not the answer.
Where the belief comes from
'Save the bees' campaigning has attached itself almost entirely to honey bees and to hives, because a hive is photogenic and a managed species is easy to count. The honey bee is a livestock animal that is not threatened, and the species in trouble are wild ones that a hive does not help and can compete with.
Ranked by how much difference it makes
- Mow less oftenA lawn cut monthly rather than weekly produces clover, selfheal and bird's-foot trefoil straight through the June gap, at no cost and with no planting. It is the single highest-return action available to most people.
- Leave bare, sunny, undisturbed groundGround-nesting bees need soil they can dig. Mulch, membrane, decking and dense planting all remove it, and a square metre of bare bank is worth more than a border.
- Plant the two gapsLate winter for emerging queens, late summer and autumn for the new queens that will found next year's colonies. Both are periods a garden designed for summer colour has nothing.
- Stop using insecticideDomestic garden use is small compared with agriculture and it is entirely within your control. Nothing sprayed on a flowering plant is safe for bees, whatever the label implies.
- Leave stems and dead wood standingCavity-nesting bees use hollow stems and beetle holes. Autumn tidying removes the nests along with the mess.
What helps less than people think
- Keeping honey bees. This adds a managed competitor to a landscape with a fixed amount of forage. It is a farming decision, not a conservation one.
- Large decorative bee hotels. Useful when small, sunny, dry and maintained; a parasite reservoir when large, damp and left for years.
- Sugar water for tired bees. Occasionally justified for a genuinely exhausted bee, but it is a rescue for one insect rather than a contribution to anything.
- Wildflower seed scattered onto existing grass. Established grass outcompetes almost all of it; the seed needs bare ground and reduced fertility.
Sources
- Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production — Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2016) · Systematic review Link
- Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation — Oxford University Press (2010) · Monograph
- HoneyHQ editorial synthesis — HEKNO Ltd · HoneyHQ synthesis
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.
Work it out for yourself
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?
- Seasonal bee planner
It is this season and I want to do this — what should I plant?