My newest apiary came about as a result working out what I needed. In order of importance, it had to be secure, so well hidden, preferably off road. It had to contain varied forage for the bees. For me that meant looking at maps and exploring areas that looked interesting. I look for good trees and hedgerows, with a good all year variety of species. It helps that I used to be a gardener and landscaper for a living, so I have reasonable plant knowledge. I like there to be some human habitation reasonably close. This is because there will be gardens, with a large range of forage available, when maybe more 'natural' forage is finished. The apiary site, in this case, had to be infinitely expandable as well.
I found the area, googled as much information as possible, then wrote to the landowners. I really believe that the tone of any letter like this is most important. I tend to look for a certain type of reader. Intelligent, quirky, generous in spirit and with a good sense of humour! My letter was put together with all that in mind. It is worth noting that people around me, upon reading the letter themselves, thought that it would never work. I sent out six letters to the area I needed, setting out what I was looking for and the advantages of having a beekeeper on their land. I received two replies. One wished me luck, as they already kept bees and the other wrote back in exactly the tone that I was looking for; friendly, excited and open.
I went to a meeting with loads of honey and the promise of more to come from their land! I was given a spinney to keep the bees in. It is totally perfect, in every way, for my needs. In the future I will be helping their crops, expanding my colonies and supplying more honey than they could ever want!
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