The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is where I've started my research about bee habitats.
http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests
This is what they recommend:
1. Provide nectar rich flowers from early spring through to the Autumn, especially in spring as the queens emerge
2. Build plant pot nests in shady, dry spots perhaps by banks, hedges or fences.
The RHS also recommend -
"Some [solitary bees] will nest in hollow stems, such as bamboo canes or herbaceous plant stems. Hole diameters in the range 2-8mm are required. Cardboard nest tubes can be bought in garden centres. Holes 2-8mm diameter can be drilled in fence posts or logs. Place these nest sites in sunny positions. Some solitary bees nest in the ground, either in bare soil or short turf. They will find their own nest sites, so tolerate the small mounds of soil deposited by the female bees when they excavate their nest tunnels. Bumblebee nest boxes can be purchased but they are often ignored by queen bumblebees. They prefer to find their own nest sites down tunnels dug by mice or in grass tussocks"
Gardeners World (http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/features/wildlife/plants-for-bees/1107.html) recommend
http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/habitats/bumblebee-nests
This is what they recommend:
1. Provide nectar rich flowers from early spring through to the Autumn, especially in spring as the queens emerge
2. Build plant pot nests in shady, dry spots perhaps by banks, hedges or fences.
The RHS also recommend -
"Some [solitary bees] will nest in hollow stems, such as bamboo canes or herbaceous plant stems. Hole diameters in the range 2-8mm are required. Cardboard nest tubes can be bought in garden centres. Holes 2-8mm diameter can be drilled in fence posts or logs. Place these nest sites in sunny positions. Some solitary bees nest in the ground, either in bare soil or short turf. They will find their own nest sites, so tolerate the small mounds of soil deposited by the female bees when they excavate their nest tunnels. Bumblebee nest boxes can be purchased but they are often ignored by queen bumblebees. They prefer to find their own nest sites down tunnels dug by mice or in grass tussocks"
Gardeners World (http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/features/wildlife/plants-for-bees/1107.html) recommend
Spring flowers:
Bluebell, bugle, crab apple, daffodil, flowering cherry and currant, forget-me-not (Myosotis), hawthorn, pulmonaria, rhododendron, rosemary, thrift (Armeria maritima) and viburnum.
Early-summer flowers:
Aquilegia, astilbe, campanula, comfrey, delphinium, everlasting sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius), fennel, foxglove, hardy geranium, potentilla, snapdragon, stachys, teasel, thyme, verbascum.
Late-summer flowers:
Angelica, aster, buddleja, cardoon, cornflower (Centaurea), dahlia (single-flowered), eryngium (sea holly), fuchsia, globe thistle (Echinops), heather, ivy, lavender, penstemon, scabious, sedum, Verbena bonariensis.
Those coloured green I already have, those in red I will source this year.
Those coloured green I already have, those in red I will source this year.
