The Apiary.

Mrs TD sent me down to the apiary to warn the gardeners that there were now bees there. The place was deserted so I took a few pictures for my own records (not forgetting Blip) and left. There are four basic requirements of an apiary:

It should be conveniently situated: three miles from home is fine, it’s far enough for me to be able to take a colony home for what-ever reason and the bees won’t find their way back to the apiary,

It should have good access: I can  get the car within 50 yards of the hives and a wheelbarrow will cover that,

It should be sheltered: the conifers at the back create a semi-circular clearing with the opening facing approximately south; combined with the high walls of the garden the place is both a sun trap and sheltered,

It should have good forage: sycamore for the spring build up, lime for a delicious honey crop and ivy for late autumn feeding; in addition there are plenty of herbs, a few fruit trees, assorted shrubs (such as elder and holly) and wild flowers (aka weeds).

It is also nice if the ground is level but this site scores four out of four so the fifth pales into insignificance (it is generally considered that three out of four is o.k.); I might try putting down some wood chippings which may even the ground up a bit - it will also suppressing the weeds.



The first extra is of the hives on their new, purpose built stand; the space between is to accommodate a nucleus hive (known as a “nuc”) which is a half size hive used for breeding. The plan is to have two more stands giving space for six full hives and three nucs.

The second is of the comings and goings at the entrance; what you can’t see is that there are a heck of a lot of bees in the air, the hives have only been here twelve hours but the bees have wasted no time in finding their way around the local watering holes.

The last one is of the remains of the pigeon who was, presumably, lunch for the resident sparrow hawk; I found the feathers under the overhanging branches of some conifers at the edge of a stand of trees.