Hello Mr.I.G.Oliver
Well, First off, I'd like to Welcome you to
The Garden Helper's Forum!!
Glad you're here and you found us!!!
We have a few members from your side of the "Pond"
and hope you'll enjoy your visits here with us often.
And I'd like to tell you we have many sections here to visit, and read all the posts, from hobbies, crafts, recipes. Add one of your own if you don't see it, or make an additional posting to the ones you see that you have interests in...
I can not personally give you any suggestions for websites which offer a design service, because I don't know of one, but maybe another gardener will be thru that can help you in your quest!!
You also wrote;
can anyone suggest some nice plants that attract a minimum of stinging insects
Not many
plants that I know of don't have
flowers (not to sound funny, but that's how most of them reproduce) but would it be possible to show the wonderment of some of the ones that do sting, and how desperately we need them, especially bees (honey bees) to have
flowers all over the world reproduce themselves..
I can only think of my own wonderment of these creatures, oh, yes, I don't make pets out of them, but I acknowledge their part in the scheme of the garden. I love to watch the honey bee's on one of the first
flowers of the year, the snowdrops, my one area is covered with honey bees, (Not the wasp's, hornet's, or yellow jackets.) I have two wee~ones my self, and even if I didn't garden, bee's and such would be in the back yard pretty much anyways, so, I've tried to teach them about those animals, how we respect them, and don't bother them, and to tell mom if they see them nesting in their swingset or something they play on... I do draw the line at them trying to nest in such area's, I will have my husband get a organic~spray (with pyrethrum and peppermint in it) to get them out of the kids toys.) I love my kids and they come first, but,
I do allow the bees in my garden as I need them, for my veggies...Would it be possible to find some kid friendly bee infomation, and pictures' or something that will help them to be more at ease with them?
I know kids are hard to convince, but if you believe, that's half the battle......
Just be diligent of the ones' that nest in your childs' play area, I would never let them stay there.
Well, I hope I've helped some!
Keep us posted on your endevour's, we enjoy hearing of everyone's out comes and what they did.
And that also helps future gardeners that come through, maybe with the same questions and thoughts.
Happy Gardening!
Weezie