Taylors Tea and saving Bees

I feel with age and each year passing I've started to see a more defined picture of myself, what I stand for and believe in and the type of legacy I want to leave behind for my children. As I get older my passion for the environment, outdoors and nature has grown year on year and as a household we aim to consciously leave as little impact on this earth as possible. As they say one person cannot make much of a difference but if we all made small positive changes together we really could make an impact.

If your interested in gardening and the environment, like most people will know our precious native British honey bees have been in decline but a whole 50% over the past 25 years which really is a very scary thought when so much depends on them. The sad thing is a lot of their decline is down to us and how we treat this beautiful planet of ours, the pollution, pesticides and man-made changes to their environment so when Taylors Of Harrogate got in touch to tell me they were giving something back to the bees and providing them with the most amazing Grand Budapest Inspired Hive.

They also sent us a little starter pack with wild flower seeds and our own mini bee hotel to make our garden as friendly and welcoming to bees and pollinating insects. One section of our garden has been purposely been left to grow wild with a few brambles and blackberries hanging over the garden walls with an abundance of hedge woundwort, roses and various other creepers, there is also a little bench and it's my favourite spot to relax in on a warm day while watching the kids run around. Near our wild spot is a little walled shelf where we have placed our original bug hotel which has become home to a few solitary overflies, spiders and woodlouse and now our new mini bee hotel stands proudly next to it and we are hoping the nearby flowers will attract some new residents to it.

There are so many simple and easy ways to help protect and attract bees to your garden, courtyard or even balcony and these small actions can lead to big change. Remember the worlds crops and flowering plants rely on insects such as bees, wasps,  hoverflies and such to pollinate and without them it would directly affect to food we eat or the tea and coffee we drink. Grow Wild are even giving away a packet of Free Wild flower seeds to help get you started.

Here are the top 3 ways to attract bees to your outdoor space

1. Plant groups of colourful flowers together in sunny spots. They especially love Lavender, Buttercups and Sunflowers.
2. Reduce or preferable stop the use of pesticides in your garden.
3. Provide solitary bees with a safe place to make their home, such as a mini bee hotel.

Another way to help the Bee cause is support the Bumblebee Conservation Trust which is now 7000 members strong and still growing. They are working to stop and reverse the decline of the British bumblebee population as well as educate people about how important these mini pollinators really are.

I am so pleased to be involved with this Taylors Bee Campaign and it's a really positive step in the right direction seeing companies investing time and money into giving back to nature. At the end of the day a world without bees is a world without tea (and many others things too). Taylors also have some amazing new herbal teas out with Rose Lemonade and Spiced Apple being my favourite. They also have an amazing competition running at the moment with the chance to win an all inclusive family trip to Kews Garden including train travel and lunch at the Orangery restaurant, so do check them out.

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