Bee better

Photo: Bernie

A bit late for a New Year resolution, but better late than never. I've decided that I need to do more to make my garden bee-friendly in 2013 after spending time on the Bee Kind pages at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website.
It asks you about what grows in your garden and awards you points per bee-friendly plant. I went into the process feeling a bit smug, expecting to get a good score.
And 2,200 points didn't seem so bad until I got to the page that gives you details of other people's scores where you live. However, it turns out that the average for a garden in Wales is 2,327 while the top score is a hefty 6,114.
So, I'm below average - and must try harder. In my defence I'd say that my garden is more about trees, nettles and long grass (for butterflies and moths, amphibians and small mammals) than it is about flowers, but I can see that there's room for improvement.
As it happens the Bee Kind test does provide a route to enlightenment by coming up with a list of planting suggestions. For me it recommends 10, including Mahonia, Alliums and thyme; time for a trip to the garden centre I think.