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magnet for bumblebees.There are a few green manures to sow now, suitable for a range of soil types:1. Grazing rye (Secale cereale) improves soil structure. Sow from August to November and dig in the following spring.2. Winter field bean (Vicia faba

the rusty-red females. And there were several specimens of the distinctive large black and ashy white Andrena cineraria.Lots of the bumblebee-like Anthophora plumipes have been darting about. The all-black females are often pursued by a posse of black

start flying from late January, it is only around the beginning of May that wasps start to appear. Bumblebees, especially, are early risers — early in the day and early in the year. Their furry coats help keep them warm, when it is too sharp for many

? If I grow buckthorn, maybe the brimstone butterfly will come in to breed. Or perhaps a patch of red clover will attract rare bumblebees.To avoid getting carried away, I’m narrowing the list down. Here are my Top 10 plants for a dream garden:Big cushions

, where the container can sit undisturbed for several yearsMore on gardening for wildlifeProvide late-summer nectar for butterflies and bees.Learn how to identify bumblebeesBrowse our image gallery of butterflies and caterpillarsGrowing from seeds

fly, a huge bristly orange and black critter, Tachina fera. No English name for this one, despite being the size of a bumblebee. The trouble is that to merit a common name, insects have to satisfy two important criteria. First they have

're tall and straight, with green curved leaves and beautiful globes of purple flowers. Being a member of the allium family, leek flowers are a magnet for honeybees and bumblebees, which seem to spend hours moving from one globe to another.The flowers

that actually, everything's alright with the world. I also love watching bumblebees foraging in cranesbill geraniums, viper's bugloss and the mountain cornflower, Centaurea montana.And in the office? The response wasn't as great - or as heated - as when I asked

tiny) garden.The garden isn't perfect and I've a long way to go, but I've documented my success by the variety of garden visitors I've gained since the transformation: blue tits and great tits, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, slugs, snails and leaf

few days, the fox has been back each morning to sniff around the patio, today we've had wood pigeon, jay, greater-spotted woodpeckers and more squirrels than I can shake a broom at. A few days ago there was still a bumblebee flying (not sure what