As Caroline, lead florist at Bloom & Wild, says: “It’s surprising to think how huge an impact bees have on our health and wellbeing. From the crops that everyone needs for nutrition to the flower arrangements that we create at Bloom & Wild to bring joy to our customers, their role is vital.

“Bees are a key part of our ecosystem which need to be protected.”

If this article has inspired you to* help protect bees yourself, then check out these three easy things you can do to save the bees below:

1. Plant things that bees like

Encourage bees into your garden by planting flowers that bees like, creating a safe space for them. Some of the best plants, flowers and herbs you can try are clover, lavender, bee balm, buttercup and oregano.

2. Buy your bees a home

As well as creating a lovely garden for your local bees to enjoy, you can go one step further and set up an actual bee home for them. Honey bees live in the waxy hives most of us are familiar with, but solitary or colony bees make their homes in pretty much anything from a piece of log to an old animals home.

3. Support local beekeepers

Small, independent beekeepers do an important job in protecting bees because they support and encourage the growth of a hive, creating a safe environment for them to thrive. Most people buy their honey from big, well-known brand names at the supermarket, but if you have a local beekeeper that you can buy from, do that instead.

You can see the full series of images on the Bloom & Wild website here.

Images: Bloom & Wild / Lea Fabienne

This is what London would look like if bees became extinct