Our peach tree is slowly edging into flower and will soon be in need of pollinators.  There are hundreds of ants charging up and down the stems feeding on the nectar, but unfortunately ants are not good pollinators.  Even though the ants move between flowers, the grains of pollen they take with them do not pollinate the flowers.  The ants secrete an antibacterial  substance to protect themselves from infection, which has the unfortunate consequence of killing the pollen grains they carry.

So its back to the bees.  Honey bees, solitary bees and bumblebees are all great pollinators and later in the year hoverflies, butterflies, moths and other insects will join in.  Some people recommend using a soft brush to pollinate by hand this early in the year, but I have seen enough bees already to be quietly confident of a good crop.  The main challenge now is frost!

There's not a lot of pollen and nectar around yet, but the early bees are doing their best to find it. Here are some things we can do to help:

1. Don’t mow too low, so that clover will grow.  Bees love clover.
2. Stop using insecticides.  There are always alternative ways of dealing with garden pests, such as dousing aphids with soapy water.
3. Plant traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers.  Exotic imported flowers and bedding plants have so little nectar and pollen that they may as well be plastic!
4. Select plants which flower at different times, from spring to late summer.
5. Plant flowers in the sun, in clumps, to make life easy for the bees.
6. Create natural habitats.  Leave a bit of your garden for rotting wood, long grasses and nettles.  Don’t be too tidy!
7. Have water available.  A pond or bird bath is ideal for thirsty bees.
8. Buy local honey that supports local beekeepers.
9. Tell your friends not to be scared of bees (and make sure they can tell the difference between a wasp and a bee!).  Bees are our friends and will sting only if provoked.
10. Start keeping bees.  Keeping bees with a top bar beehive is easier than you think.

Although the veg garden is pretty much at its lowest point of the year with only a few brassicas and parsnips remaining, the first day of spring should always be a day for optimism.  The worms have done their bit by digging in the manure I spread in the autumn and the pigeons have given the onion sets a wide birth.  It is also the start of fairtrade fortnight, which is good excuse to celebrate an organisation which offers 7.5 million people in the developing world a more secure future and to learn more about fairtrade producers.