Developing Business In The Garden Industry
New PlantforLife Guide promoting bee friendly plants
PlantforLife, in association with The British Beekeepers Association, have produced a downloadable guide to planting to attract bees in your garden.
Bees are in decline in the UK and are struggling for survival. Honey bees have suffered heavy over-winter colony losses due to disease and of the UK’s 27 species of bumble bee, three are now extinct.
As British gardens are the largest nature reserve in the UK, PlantforLife, has produced the bee friendly guide. Accredited by The British Beekeepers’ Association, the factsheet provides a list of plants – together with tips on how and when to plant and care for them – that will encourage bees back into the garden. The plants featured in the guide include: buddleja, cornflowers, corn poppies, flowering currants, foxgloves, heathers, honeysuckle, lamb’s ear, lavender, sea holly, sedum and sunflowers.
Available to download at www.plantforlife.info/bees garden retailers are encouraged to print them out and display next to bee-friendly plants such as lavender, corn poppies and sedum.
Tim Lovett, Director of Public Affairs at the British Beekeepers Association said: “The British Beekeepers Association was delighted to be able to assist the HTA in the preparation of their PlantforLife Bee Friendly campaign materials. The HTA is keen to encourage gardeners to help bees which are struggling against a number of problems and the advice the HTA has made available will make its own important contribution in the fight to help our bees.”
5 reasons why we should encourage bees into our gardens:
Bees add charm and character to our gardens, bringing them to life
Creating a garden for wildlife can be a project the whole family can become involved in from toddlers to Mums and Dads!
Encouraging bees also attracts hoverflies and other beneficial insects into the garden, helping to control pests and protect garden plants
A third of all the food we eat is on our table thanks to bees pollinating our crops; so looking after bees is actually the same as looking after ourselves
Bees can help make your garden more productive, especially if you grow vegetables or have fruit trees that need to be pollinated.
For further information please visit:
Follow us on Twitter @bee_friendly
Contacts
Gill Ormrod or Jade Jennings
HTA Press Office
Tel: 0118 930 3132
Email: press.office@the-hta.org.uk
Bee images and the bee friendly planting guide are available from the HTA Press Office.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is the trade association for the UK garden industry. It is dedicated to helping develop the industry and its member businesses, including most garden centres and other garden retailers, growers, landscapers, manufacturers and service providers.
The HTA was founded in 1899. Its key roles include: provision of advice-based services such as business improvement schemes, briefings and help lines; training for members; a central buying service; marketing services such as National Garden Gift Vouchers, the Garden Industry Monitor and the PlantforLife promotion initiative; and working closely with government to influence policy and projects.
Last updated: 21/07/2010 16:03