Creating A Bee-Friendly Garden For UK Pollinators

Feeding is straightforward but worth getting right. Meaty cat or dog food, or a specialist hedgehog food, is a better choice than bread and milk, which can cause digestive upset. A shallow dish of fresh water left out overnight is just as useful as food, particularly during dry spells in summer.

Winter is one of the harder seasons for garden wildlife. Natural food becomes scarce, cold weakens smaller animals quickly, and many species rely on undisturbed shelter to see them through to spring rather than active foraging.

For gardeners wanting an alternative to chemical sprays, a soil-applied option is worth considering as a first step, and a good starting point is a range of slug nematodes for gardens suited to the pest in question.

Not every beneficial garden insect lives in a hive or a colony. Many UK bee species are solitary, nesting alone or in loose aggregations, and insects such as lacewings and ladybirds shelter individually or in small clusters, particularly over winter. An insect houses house gives these species something a tidy garden often lacks: safe, undisturbed nesting and overwintering space.

Bees and other pollinating insects rely on gardens for a large share of their food, especially in built-up areas where wildflower meadows are scarce. A garden that offers flowers from early spring right through to autumn does far more for pollinators than one with a single showy burst of colour in June.

Native hedging is a strong starting point. Hawthorn and holly, for example, provide dense shelter and nesting sites through spring and summer, then carry berries into autumn and winter when other food is scarce. Nectar-rich perennials planted alongside give pollinators a working food source through the growing season rather than a single short burst.