Jack by-the-Hedge’s natural gardens Scotland

You've seen the Pinterest post: put out a dish of sugar water to save the bees. Thousands of shares. Sounds like a rescue mission.

It's doing the opposite.

Bees do drink sugar water from open dishes. But what happens next is the problem.

🔴 What an open sugar dish actually does

Yellowjackets and wasps find it too. They follow the bees back to the hive and attack weakened colonies. Bees from different colonies drinking from the same dish transmit diseases to each other — Nosema and American foulbrood are both fatal and both spread exactly this way. One shared dish can carry foulbrood spores to every hive within flight range. Beekeepers have lost entire apiaries traced back to a neighbor's well-meaning sugar dish.

In sunlight, sugar water ferments within hours and produces alcohol and acids that cause digestive problems in bees. And bees that find an easy sugar source can stop foraging from flowers, which reduces pollination in your own garden and your neighbors' gardens.

Honeybees don't need your sugar. They need your flowers.

🟢 What actually helps bees right now

Queen bumblebees are emerging from hibernation on the first warm days above 50°F. What they find in your garden this week determines whether a new colony gets started. A single queen emerging in February will found a colony of 200. One early flower patch can be the difference.

🌸 Plant early bloomers now:

- Crocus, hellebore, and snowdrops flower when almost nothing else is open — these feed emerging queens during the most critical window of the year
- A shallow water dish with pebbles gives bees what they actually need — water, not sugar — and the pebbles provide safe landing spots so they don't drown

🌿 Change how you manage your garden:

- Leave a patch of bare soil somewhere in your yard — about 70 percent of native bee species nest in the ground, not in hives, and they can't dig through mulch or landscape fabric
- Don't cut back spent flower stems from last year — hollow stems hold native bee larvae that are developing inside them right now
- Skip the mulch in at least one corner — ground-nesting bees need exposed dirt to emerge in spring
- Don't seal holes in masonry or wood during late winter — solitary bees may be hibernating inside them

🚫 What to avoid:

- Open sugar water dishes — disease, wasps, fermentation
- Honey mixed with water — store-bought honey can carry spores that are fatal to wild bees
- Spraying any pesticide near blooming plants, including organic sprays applied at dawn when bees are active

The most shared bee advice on the internet is the most damaging. The real rescue is a crocus, a water dish with pebbles, and a patch of bare dirt. 🐝

No mow May

Yes

this spring....👍👍👍👍👍👍

This April look out for these butterflies and moths in your gardens and local green spaces 🌷🌱🦋

Discover more species and how to attract them to your garden with our free monthly E-newsletter 👉 http://butterfly-conservation.org/enews

Plants for early pollinators Help pollinators in early spring by growing these valuable sources of nectar and pollen.

Making your own bird feeder gives local wildlife a helping hand and tempts them into your green space, so you can enjoy getting closer to nature.
By recycling materials like plastic bottles, empty loo roll tubes and even broken crockery, you can make your own at home: http://ow.ly/PQTP50DkQH3

Grow Your Own - February advice and gardening tips / RHS Gardening Expert tips, advice, profiles and videos from the RHS on how to grow your own fruit, vegetables and herbs at home, on the allotment or in containers.

Biodynamic calendar for February:
1-2 Feb: root crops harvest, sowing time, good time to make homemade preserves.
4-10 Feb: maintenance days: weeding, composting, winter pruning of shrubs and trees.
11 Feb: New Moon. Bad day for gardening. Good day for a donut.
12-17 Feb: SOWING, harvesting and making leaf plant products. A good time to cut your hair too!
20-26 Feb: SOWING, harvesting and making fruit plant products. Still a chance for a haircut.
27 Feb: Full Moon and Saturday... Maybe a bonfire?
28 Feb: beginning of another root plant period (see 1-2 Feb), winter pruning of shrubs and trees.

Sign the petition We can't allow pesticides to destroy our environment and kill any more bees.

Why are wildflowers so important?

Meadow Musings - Why are wildflowers so important? Summer brings wildflower meadows overgrown and bursting with colour usually from a wonderful range of flowering plants. Not only a pleasant sight but also an important one, and where is why...