ESSEX: Colchester-based paving importer and supplier, Global Stone, is sponsoring the 'Bee Friendly Plants Garden' at the Chelsea Flower Show this year on 25-29 May in London.

Featured as a 'must see' garden on the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea website, the garden demonstrates how careful planting choices can encourage bees to forage in even the smallest of urban spaces.

The world's bee population is already in serious decline and with new threats posed by little understood parasites and diseases, there has never been a more crucial time for gardeners to consider wildlife in their garden planning.

A trend towards ethical gardening in the UK has also seen consumers more carefully considering the materials they use in their gardens.

As a supplier of ethically sourced natural stone, the company was a natural partner for this ecologically-inspired garden.

It features natural sandstone paving mixed with black limestone. The whole garden is set against a dark slate wall backdrop.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is held annually in May in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London. It is the most famous gardening show in the United Kingdom, and probably the world, attracting 157 000 visitors each year and receiving extended coverage on the BBC.