Squires Garden Centre is advising residents to attract butterflies and bees to gardens.

Butterflies and bees are important to the ecosystem, they help flowers pollinate and provide population control for plants. They also provide a food source for other animals.

About one-third of the food we eat would not be available but for bees, according to the British Beekeepers Associations.

The garden centre found that 70 per cent of people said they would like to encourage more butterflies and bees into their gardens. They provided the following suggestions:

• Plant vibrant and colourful plants

Butterflies and bees will visit any garden, however small if they can feed on suitable nectar-rich plants. Squire’s recommend that you plant plenty of pink and purple plants, which are colours loved by our winged friends. Try Buddleia, Verbena, Lavender or Marjoram.

• Give them warmth and shelter

Butterflies and bees both like warmth, so choose sunny sheltered spots to place your plants. Give bees shelter by letting your grass grow various lengths to suit different bees. Place a butterfly house and nectar feeders in a quiet sunny spot.

• Give them a drink

Provide water for them in your garden. It could be a pond, a birdbath, or simply a shallow dish filled with water - but make sure to add a few stones or marbles to provide a surface for them to drink from, as they can drown in water bowls.

• Help a tired bee

Add two spoons of sugar to one spoon of water, and leave the spoon in front of a tired bee. Once it’s eaten it will be revived.

• Help a tired butterfly

Make a warm resting place by laying a few flat stones in a sunny part of the garden n that’s sheltered from the wind.