A recent book, A World Without Bees ( ISBN 978-0-85265-029-9) made grim bedtime reading. The chapter on Colony Collapse Disorder deals with the baffling disappearance of whole hives of honey bees.

It began in America in 2006, and various theories have emerged since. Genetically modified foods, mites, pathogens, pesticides and electromagnetic radiation from cell phones have all been proposed as possible causes of the bees' demise. But the most credible cause seems to implicate the widespread use of two neonicotinoid chemicals, applied to seeds. It travels systemically through the plant, and leaves residues that contaminate the pollen, resulting in bee death, paralysis or disorientation. This chemical is often applied to oil seed rape and sunflower seeds, and the French banned their use in 1999 after they identified “mad bee disease”. Germany have now followed suit.

London has lost 33 per cent of its beehives in the last 12 months, and there were lots of successful hives there – principally feeding on tree blossom.

Fortnum and Masons have Carniolan bees chosen for their gentle nature, healthy constitution, ability to overwinter, and their orientation skills.

The British Beekeepers Association is fighting for more Government funding, but what can we do as gardeners?

Firstly, recognise that systemic chemicals get into every area of a plant, including pollen. Honey is regurgitated pollen, and we ingest it. Not a nice thought! Secondly, recognise that the smallest creatures in the garden are most radically affected by chemicals, and they often perish. This pulls the lowest level out of your eco system, and everything else collapses above it. Simply put, don’t spray. More practically, you can help solitary and bumble bees, who are emerging from hibernation in January and February, by growing early-flowering plants, like crocus, pulmonaria, periwinkle and Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’. Add a winter-flowering clematis (C. cirrhosa var. balearica) on a south-facing wall, a winter honeysuckle (Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’) and the evergreen Daphne ‘Jacqueline Postill’. These will provide an early nectar fix.

When planting throughout the year, use simply-shaped easily-accessible flowers, that are either veined or spotted. Both markings are luring in pollinators. If they are annuals or biennials, even better, they are especially nectar-rich. Flies, hoverflies, butterflies, small beetles, wasps. birds and even ladybirds can and do spread pollen.

Different insects like different shaped flowers and they go for different colours. Flies and hoverflies often prefer tiny flowers. One of the best fly plants is the shrubby umbellifer, Bupleurum fruticosum. It has olive-like leaves and many heads of lime-green flowers in August. Join The Bumblebee Conservation Trust (tel 01786 467818, bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk) for more information.