Encouraging bees of all types into your garden is one of the most rewarding ways to boost wildlife – and it pays you back too. In the UK, bees pollinate many of the crops and garden plants we rely on, from fruit trees and soft fruit to beans, courgettes and herbs.
More pollinators usually means better fruit set, heavier harvests and healthier seed for next year, while also supporting birds and other creatures further up the food chain.
It’s not just honeybees that matter. Bumblebees, solitary mining bees and mason bees do a huge amount of pollination, often in cooler, cloudier weather when honeybees are less active. Many are under pressure because “tidy” gardens remove nesting and overwintering sites such as bare soil, hollow stems, beetle holes in wood and sheltered crevices.
One easy fix is to install bee hotels. These are mainly for solitary cavity‑nesting bees (especially mason and leafcutter bees), which lay eggs in tubes and seal each chamber with mud or leaves. Place it in sun, keep it dry, and leave it undisturbed.
