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Common carder bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) feeding on blueberry flower by Amanda Thomas

Growing my own food for bees and wellbeing

A common carder bumblebee on a blueberry plant with a visible pollen basket

4 August 2022

By Amanda Thomas from Watford

Of all the various wildlife-friendly habitats I’ve added into my wild garden, I’ve found that my herb bed along with the fruit and vegetable beds seem to attract the most bees and other pollinators. I have lots of wild areas in my garden – long grass, wildflowers, log piles, bug hotels, ponds, brambles and a dead hedge, but at this time of year it’s the herb bed that’s absolutely buzzing with life from bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees to butterflies, hoverflies and moths! I love that growing food benefits nature as well as myself and my family.

One of my favourite herbs to grow is thyme, I have a few different varieties and I love to use it in cooking and to make tea – thyme and elderberry* tea is lovely. When in flower, thyme attracts lots of bees, particularly honeybees and also the very tiny but very beautiful mint moth. At the moment the oregano is in full bloom and during the day it’s covered in bees and gatekeeper butterflies. The lavender is always full of bumblebees as well as both small and large white butterflies and it makes a lovely tea too – I like it mixed with lemon balm and lemon thyme.

I also have rosemary, mint, and yarrow growing in the herb bed which all attract pollinators when they flower and make lovely herbal teas too! This year I also added some salad rocket to the herb bed and it’s grown huge! I’ve not had to buy any rocket for months now and it’s flowered profusely, attracting lots of smaller solitary bees. Earlier in the year the chive and nigella flowers were also buzzing with life.

Just across from my herb bed I have some vegetable beds, fruit shrubs and a small greenhouse where I grow salad crops. As part of my wildlife-friendly gardening ethos I don’t use any pesticides at all as I know how detrimental they are for wildlife, everything is grown in a wildlife-friendly way – slugs and snails are re-homed and aphids are left for the birds and ladybirds to enjoy. Thanks to all the wonderful pollinators, this year we have eaten lots of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and now the blackberries are beginning to ripen.

I leave some of the vegetables I grow to go to flower such as onions, broccoli, lettuce and mustard as the flowers are fantastic for pollinators. I’ve found that bumblebees really love onion flowers and once the flowers have been pollinated the seeds can then be collected to grow more vegetables next year.

Next to our veg beds we have a pergola which this year has been covered in passionflowers and now passionfruit, it’s a real favourite with bees but last year I grew nasturtiums and cucamelons on the pergola which both have beautiful, bright flowers that attract pollinators and not only do they look gorgeous but both provide food too. Nasturtium flowers, leaves and seed heads are all edible and nutritious – a great addition to salads and cucuamelons make a great, little snack in the garden!

Another great addition to a wildlife garden is native hedging which can also produce food. We have some newly planted, small, native hedges consisting of various shrubs including hawthorn, elder, hazel and blackthorn all of which produce nectar rich blossom in spring for bees and other pollinators and food in the autumn. As the hedges grow bigger there should be enough food for both us and the wildlife. Hawberries, elderberries, hazelnuts and sloe berries can all be used to make various drinks, foods, teas and tinctures.*

For anyone thinking of making their garden more wildlife-friendly to attract more bees and other pollinators I would highly recommend growing herbs, fruits, vegetables and salad crops. Not only will your garden be buzzing with life and provide bees and other insects with the vital food and shelter they need but it will also provide you with healthy, nutritious, organic food, and what’s more the beautiful sounds, scents and sights of the plants and all the wonderful wildlife they attract will almost certainly bring you joy and improve your wellbeing. I love that wildlife-friendly gardening has taught me so much about nature and myself – I wanted to make my garden wild to benefit nature but in doing so I’ve benefited myself in so many ways!

If Amanda’s blog has inspired you to help bumblebees by growing your own food, check out our FREE guides in our Bee the change area!

* A note on berries: collect responsibly and safely, and make sure you are able to correctly identify what you are picking. Please check correct preparation and cooking instructions for any part of a wild plant collected from outdoors.