The return of the buzz

In a small, quiet residential area, perhaps not so dissimilar to yours, lived a cheerful boy called Max. Max was eight years old and had a large garden behind the house. This garden used to be a wild paradise: full of flowers, buzzing insects and bushes that provided perfect hiding places.

But over time, Max’s parents had made the garden “tidier”. The wild shrubs disappeared and were replaced by perfectly trimmed bushes. The lawn was as short as a green carpet, as Robbie, the little robot mower, tirelessly mowed the lawn. Colorful flower pots were everywhere – pretty, but strangely lifeless.

One afternoon, while the children were eating ice cream, Lina suddenly remarked: “It’s so… quiet.” Max nodded. “It used to hum everywhere here.” Everyone sensed something was missing.

The next day, Max, Lina, Tom and Sophie came back to the garden equipped – Max with a magnifying glass, Lina with a nature guide, Tom with a butterfly net and Sophie with her curiosity.

They crept through the grass until Max noticed a single tired bee sitting on a geranium. “Hello, little bee,” he whispered. “Why are you so sad?” The bee buzzed weakly. “Your garden looks colorful… but many of these flowers don’t help us. Geraniums, for example, have no nectar and hardly any pollen. They’re pretty for humans – but for us they’re like empty plates.” The children looked at each other in amazement. “So a flower can pretend to be tasty – but it’s not?” asked Sophie. The bee nodded.

Shortly afterwards, Sophie giggled as a ladybug hopped over her hand. “It’s doing somersaults!” The ladybug looked indignant. “I’m just looking for food. But there aren’t even any aphids here. Everything is so clean… too clean.” The children became thoughtful.

Their garden was beautiful – but not alive. “We’ll help you,” said Tom resolutely. “We’ll make the garden a home again,” added Lina.

They went to Grandma and Grandpa for advice. Grandma beamed: “Lavender, sunflowers and clover are wonderful for bees. They also like wild herbs like thyme.” Grandpa nodded. “And butterflies love lilacs and mallows. It’s important that there are lots of different plants so that something is always in bloom.” The children eagerly took notes. But Grandpa asked: “Have you spoken to your parents? After all, the garden belongs to everyone.”

In the evening, the children told everything: the tired bee, the hungry ladybug and their plan to bring the garden back to life. Max’s parents listened attentively. Finally, his mother smiled. “If you really take care of it, you can redesign part of the garden.”

The children cheered.

Over the next few weeks, they sowed, planted, dug and screwed. They set up an insect hotel, let a corner grow wild and planted flowers that really provided food – the kind of flowers that welcome insects.

And one day, when the sun was turning the garden golden, they heard it again. A humming. Softly at first. Then stronger. Then warm and familiar like an old friend. Bees danced over the clover. Butterflies hovered over the mallows. A ladybug sat full and content on a leaf. Max smiled. “The buzzing is back.”

And finally the garden felt like a garden again – full of life.