It's not just honey bees we have in Bexleyheath. You should see the huge flock of pied wagtails that live in the shopping centre's ventilation system. They're forming roosts at the moment and can be seen (and heard)every evening as they gather together.
0
Posts
Peter Hewitt
bit concerned about that bit on gardeners world.
it seemed all you had to do was buy this huge piece of wood, get some bees and bobs your uncle.
isn't there a little bit more to keeping bees than that, monty?!
I know he said to contact your local bee association tho.
in the papers this week was an article on swarms in cities, they think it might have something to do with amateur bee keepers..
is it?!
I would love bees, but I already have plenty in my garden cos of all the bee friendly plants I have.
and we had 2 swarms at my dads house which was pretty frightening when I was younger!
I'm a big Monty fan .... but he was far too blasé about beekeeping.
A local beekeeping association simply would not just give a swarm of unknown origin to an absolute beginner.
There's so much to know about keeping bees. You need to identify and manage pests and diseases, you need to know when to feed the bees, what to do to prevent swarming so your bees are not a nuisance to neighbours etc etc ...
I just love keeping bees ... I feel it is a both a privilege and a responsibility. It is also time consuming ... and not something to undertake without an appreciation of what is involved.
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
Monty's hive will be too cold for bees.
Bees need to be kept warm with quilts (!) on top of the hive and not be disturbed by honey seeking beekeepers - the bees' worst enemy.
One of the best honey bee bringers into the garden is Allysum, I have a border dedicated to just allysum and was so impressed that I have dedicated another border to a different colour of this wonderful plant.