When spring arrived this year many of my blog friends took some lovely pictures of their flowering shrubs. Red Robin and Ceanothus are two of my favourites. They seem to thrive particularly well in London soil.

The Ceanothus in particular attracted hordes of bees. It was truly a breathtaking sight and I regret not taking a picture. But I'm somewhat lazy with my camera phone and worse since my old Olympus camera broke at least 5 years ago. I can't be bothered with the latest in camera technology.

Music is different. I was determined to master the iPod and all its accoutrements but pictures for me provoke a bitter sweet nostalgia that is not worth the shutter speed. I digress.

Back to the bushes and bees. For it is bees that are the reason for this post. Media opinions state that bees are in decline and their habitat is under threat. Bad weather, air pollution, fertilizers and celebrity gardening are all reasons for concern. But not in my back yard. Or Nimby as they say. For I have seen a proliferation of them. Or, a bumble of bees, would be the suitable collective noun. They are quite the cutest things. They are fascinating to watch as they visit each flower to collect the pollen. They make the most soporific sound and I just adore their jaunty striped fuzzy jumpers. Apparently aero-dynamically it is just not possible for them to fly. The honey they produce makes effective medicine. The jelly they make when fed to the queen can keep a queen alive for 5 years. Hence the youth enhancing marketing of Royal Jelly.

I have learnt that bees enjoy an environment of flowering herbs such as catmint, sage and lovage along with ivy and blackberry bushes. All of which I have in the garden and that is probably the reason why I have the privilege of their presence. They are a pleasure to observe.

Ancient civilisations respected and understood the significance of bees long before we ever did. And we can still learn a lot from these lilliputian life-forms.