If there’s an emoticon for being smug, I want one. Whenever I hear about colony collapse and how endangered and important bees are, I can’t help but feel glad my little colony is doing alright. Bees seem to do well in the city and of course love their flowers. They are certainly well catered to in my garden.

In fact, the garden is so buzzing with bees, it can be louder than the drone of MacLeod Trail which is about 200 metres to the west of my location. OK, wind direction and other factors like houses and trees help dull the sound of traffic but you can’t help but notice the bees.

I knew that providing a little oasis for the bees was essential and quickly realized they love the creeping thyme, chives and hollyhocks that adorn the hillside – It’s quite the party down there.

Flowers (edible or otherwise) are just one part of the equation – they also need an inviting place to live. With lots of natural river rock and random wood piles, there’s plenty of real estate available on the market. I’ve looked into bee and bug hotels but they’re already right at home here (if it’s not broken, don’t fix it).

There are at two varieties of bees in abundance – honey bees and bumble bees (at least that’s what I call them). They are a major contributor to the success of my annual fruit and vegetable yield (and I certainly wouldn’t want to do the pollination myself).

So bee nice to the hardest workers in your garden!