Bees eat two things: nectar (loaded with sugar, it's a bee's main source of energy) and pollen (which provides proteins and fats).

• Native plants or heirloom varieties are best.Flowers bred to please the human eye (for things like size and complexity) are sometimes sterile and of little use to pollinators.

• Bees have good colour vision - that's why flowers are so showy! They especially likeblue, purple, violet, white and yellow. Plant flowers of a single species (and colour) in clumps about four feet in diameter instead of in scatterings so bees are more likely to find them.

Take a look at some of the hanging baskets I put together this year. Not only are they bee-friendly, but they're not bad to look at either!

• Bee species all have different tongue lengths - adaptations to different flowers, soa variety of flower shapes will benefit a diversity of bees.

These plants, organized by when they bloom, are just a few of thespeciesthat attract bees:

Fragrant herbs: good for bees too!

If you have space for a little herb garden, that's another great way to attract bees. Mint attracts certain types of bees, as do sage, rosemary, thyme, bee balm, and a number of other herbs.

Tip

Here's a small pot of lavender that I've got hanging from my fence (a make-do solution to save it from the squirrels who like to get into my garden).