http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3033817.stm



OK I'll bite as I have noticed fewer Bumblebees this year.
Ive got an area of overgrown land with oak and chestnut trees so it's
shady.
Which of the following recommended plants would you NOT recommend i
plant as the area is close to my main garden.
And also anyone know were you can buy these weeds!.
Red clover
birds-foot trefoil,
red bartsia
and black knapweed.
Hedgerow species such as
white dead nettle,
hedge woundwort,
tufted vetch
bush vetch

I'm fed up of this story. Our bumble bee population has been in decline for
many years and it's nothing to do with lack of nectar and pollen. It's about
loss of habitat by intensive farming, tidy gardening and building. This last
is the hook for the latest journalistic hyperbole, that brown-field sites
are being built on.

There's nothing new in the story and growing all the above plants won't save
the bumble bee or any other insects. Affording the right habitats will.

Trouble is, most people don't like most insects. Nor weeds. Nor untidy
gardens.

And if they see a few bees going in and out of the compost heap they shut
the windows, hide under tables and ring for the pest control folk.

An exaggeration? Of course. Just like the news stories.

Mary