Happy Bees and Local Honey

There's something so appealing about the sight of lavender in the garden.  The vibrant colour and subtle  fragrance that, if you squint a bit and ignore the frostbite creeping up your legs, could almost make you feel like you're in sunny Provence.

Image from Viator

We've found it amazingly easy to grow as well which is a bonus.  Well, all except those fluffy French varieties which seem to turn their nose up at our claggy English soil.

But no matter, there are plenty of breeds that seem to like our devil may care attitude to gardening and resolute lack of attention.  Even I can manage to trim them back a couple of times a year to stop them going all woody.

Last year, having dug up a hideous border of dwarf trees, we planted a Lavender hedge.  It made me happy every time I looked at it.

So now I'm all excited about planting more this year.  Especially since the bees really do seem to love it - you can just about see one happy little fella at the top of the pic.  As Antony was potting up our first new lavender purchases at the weekend, it got me thinking about bees and what else we might be able to do to encourage them.

They seem to love one of the airbricks in our wall (clearly not ideal!) so this year I think I might get a little bee house.  We should be getting these jaunty little things in the shop in the next few weeks so I think one definitely has my name on it.

According to Save Our Bees, if our native bee species die out, we could lose a third of our diet.  Bad news.  And it seems that unless we all step in to help, their decline could be inexorable.  In the 1950s, there were 50 native species of bees.  Now there are only 25.

Friends of the Earth are so concerned about the plight of our bees that they are petitioning the government to act and have their own Bee Cause campaign.  Their research indicates that:

• the loss of habitat is the most pressing problem facing British bees:  97% of our vital grasslands have been lost in the past 60 years
• bees pollinate 75% of our main food crops worldwide, including some of our favourite produce like apples, strawberries and tomatoes
• scientists estimate that it would cost over £1.8 billion every single year to pollinate UK crops by hand

What's more, they emphasise that the diversity of bee species is important in ensuring good quality crops and reliable yields.

So aside from my new bee house, my plan is to plant more flowers including maybe some wild flowers, which apparently they love.  And according to The Mail Online, researchers from Queen Mary's College London, their favourite flower colours are violet and purple from which they also collect more nectar so it's a happy coincidence that the one border we got replanted and looking OK last year is mainly in shades of purple, pink and white.

And the other obvious thing to do is to buy local honey.  Support the people who are taking care of the bees for us.

East Riding Honey have a fascinating page on their website about their beekeeping year.  I had no idea that the hives are moved from place to place!  They've also got some great photos (like this one) and more information about the different types of honey they produce.

Another interesting website is Beverley Beekeepers' Association where you can find a list of places to buy local honey (which includes Jacks, Drewtons and Fresh & Fruity) and some interesting looking honey recipes.  Date & Honey Tea Loaf sounds like a winner!

I love this car planted with pollinator friendly plants by Fiona Weir (a member of the Beverley Beekeepers' Association) for last year's Freedom Festival to highlight the importance of city planting.

Image from Beverley Beekeepers' Association

Brilliant!