Keeping bees is very hard, heavy and sticky work. You should learn all about it first and get hands on experience.
Also you may have neighbours who will cause you problems.
I won't be having a hive as i have no where to keep it away from the dogs. I do encourage soloitary bees by providing bee bedrooms and i plant loads of the right flowers. a good one is boring old ivy as it flowers late in the year
I am a beekeeper. Anything you plant that flowers is helpful for the honey bee but the bees most likely to use your Garden are Bumble Bees and Solitary Bees and Hover flies (dont kill them they are not little wasps) and the golden rule for these is not to have a very tidy garden. They like undisturbed areas for their nests piles of wood, hollows under garden sheds, dry areas.
Thank you for your concern, we need it .
Thanks to all for your replies.
Sarah Louise, I`m a very keen gardener so I`m afraid my garden is very neat and tidy, but I do encourage the bees with many varieties of flowers. I do hope a cure will soon be found for their disease or to eliminate the little bug that many carry, for all our sakes.