Member Article

Don’t worry….Bee happy!

BARRATT Homes Manchester is planting a range of bee friendly plants at a number of developments across the North West, in an attempt to help save the British honey bee.

The house builder is working with the British Beekeepers’ Association and has pledged to plant a variety of bee friendly flowers and shrubs in the gardens of its sales office and show homes at all of its developments going forward.

Neil Goodwin, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said; “We take an enormous amount of pride in playing a role in raising the awareness of the dangers that the British honey bee is currently facing and as a result we are planting special plants in the gardens of our developments to support them.”

Honey bees are under threat from loss of habitat, weather and disease and their importance is often underestimated. One in three mouthfuls of food that we consume is reliant upon pollination, which includes our ‘five-a-day’. Everything from strawberries, apples, pears, chocolate, sweet peppers, chilies, margarine, mustard and herbs is reliant upon the services of honey bees and other pollinators.

Bee friendly plants at Cottam Meadow include: Hebes and Sedum, Lavandula Hidcote, Escallonia, Rudbeckia Goldstrum and Penstemon.

Jane Moseley, Operations Director at the British Beekeepers’ Association, said; “Unfortunately honey bees are rare in the wild due to the threats of disease and lack of forage diversity. We don’t all have to be beekeepers to become keepers of bees. By providing plants that are in bloom from February right through to October, we are providing plentiful sources of pollen and nectar for honey bees and other pollinators.”

Barratt Homes Manchester has been awarded the maximum five star official rating from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the sixth year in a row. The news was announced after more than 20,000 new home buyers across the country took part in this year’s HBF customer satisfaction survey.

Bee friendly tips

• As summer continues bees are looking for pollen and nectar rich plants so the more flowering plants the better. They particularly like plants with simple open flowers, avoiding F1 Hybrids.
• Ensure at least two plants are in flower from spring until late summer to provide food throughout the season and it’s best to plant them in sunny places rather than in the shade but never use pesticides on plants when they are in flower.
• What bees also like is water, a pond, water feature, bird bath or even a saucer will be appreciated by thirsty bees.
• You don’t need a big garden to encourage bees - the plants can be in borders, tubs, hanging baskets and even a window box can provide a rich source of food for bees.
• So many plants are bee-friendly and a full list can be found on the BBKA website. http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/gardening_for_bees.
• And if you are inspired to add some bee-friendly plants look for plants at garden centres and nurseries which have either the BBKA ‘Good for Honey Bees’ or Royal Horticultural Society bee-friendly plant labels to help identify the best plants.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anonymous .