IT has been glorious these past few weeks and the flowers are loving the sun.

The bees are too, but there seem to be far fewer buzzing around.

We’re keen to see the results of last weekend’s Big Garden Bee Count, run by Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

They are campaigning to create more space for pollinators in the county.

Pleasingly, this weekend we stumbled upon a nest of bumblebees while working on a garden revamp in Lymm.

If you find one, count your lucky stars – they are not very common, so says the Bumble Conservation Trust.

The best thing to do is just leave them be – they don’t stay for more than a few months.

Cheshire has lost a lot of natural habitat, including 99 per cent of its wildflower meadows in the past 60 years. It’s vital we turn the tide.

At Patch of the Planet, we see every patch of earth as part of a bigger quilt.

Patches of nectar-rich flowers in gardens are bee side-dishes in an immense banquet, laid out across the whole region.

There are some really simple things you can do to help bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects throughout the year, but here’s what you can do now:

Prolong the life of flowering plants

You can do this by dead-heading. Just pinch off the old flower with your fingers.

Sow more seeds

There’s plenty you can still sow outside now to bring a riot of colour and scent to your summer patch.

Try calendula, larkspur, candytuft, scabious, aquilegia, nigella, sunflower, borage, nasturtium and wild poppy.

If you want food too, then sow courgette and runner beans.

Add some mature specimens of lavender, honeysuckle, geranium and the pollinators will thank you. If you haven’t got a garden, plant up some pots or hanging baskets.

Choose organic

There’s been a loud buzz about neonicotinoids recently.

These are pesticides that are having disastrous effects on bee health.

One teaspoon is enough to give a lethal dose to one and a quarter billion bees.

It’s impossible to tell if a plant or seeds have been treated with ‘neonics’.

Even those labelled as ‘pollinator friendly’ may have been treated with it, reminiscent of the sirens luring the sailors to their doom.

Going organic avoids the problem.

But if you need to buy a plant and can’t get hold of an organic one, try B&Q as they have committed to all of their flowering plants being neonic-free.

Allow some crops to go to flower

Such as kale and lettuce.

Give the bees a rest

A rock in a sunny spot lets the bees warm up and get energised.

Let the lawn grow longer

Cut less closely and less often so pollinators have somewhere to shelter and feed.

Provide fresh water

It’s thirsty work being a bee. Shallow, slope-sided containers with pebbles in, let bees drink safely.

Finally, sit back, enjoy the rest of the summer, pop some of those borage flowers in your Pimms and watch those bees. Working with nature is amazing.