Join Benny Hawksbee for this inspiring and practical workshop on bee identification and planting for pollinators. Over the course of the morning, Benny will guide the group through the landscape of Tom Stuart-Smith’s Plant Library which is home to 350 species of invertebrates and over 2000 varieties of perennials and bulbs, including many nectar and pollen-rich flowering plants.

From ground-nesting solitary bees to cavity nesting bees, from Common Bees to Cuckoo-Bees to Bryony Mining Bees, learn how to identify different species of bee and understand their different habitats and foraging behaviour, whilst discovering which plants will encourage them into your garden.

A former marine biologist, during the workshop Benny will draw on over a decade’s experience of working as a wildlife-focussed gardener and advocate, which include his roles as head gardener for Eden Nature Garden, Clapham and working with Fiona Crummay and John Little at their experimental Hilldrop garden. His work centres on thoughtful, city gardening with a focus on wild insects and the combination of weeds and more conventional garden plants.

This workshop is a must for gardeners, garden designers and nature lovers who want to gain a deeper understanding of how to identify and best support bees and other pollinating insects, through a refreshingly wildlife-centered approach to gardening and planting.