Bee Aware Month

September is Bee Aware month and the main message to get out there is that we need to plant more bee friendly plants.  Bees pollinate one third of the food we eat and life would be a struggle without them. It’s a two-way street though – bees need us to plant food they can eat. Over $5 billion of New Zealand’s agricultural exports also depend on bees. Bee numbers worldwide are in decline and we must do all that we can to save them before it’s too late – some of the main factors causing this are nutritional stress, lack of food compromising the bees’ resistance to pests and diseases, and pesticides and sprays.
Up north my wildflower meadow is starting to show growth and last year even though it was a bit patchy I was astonished at how many bees visited it, you could hear them before you got to the meadow.
So why not take some time this spring to include some bee-friendly plants in your summer garden. Click here for a fantastic fact sheet which tells you all the best plants to include.