Let's share our garden setups

[BeeKeyPlayer]

What a wonderful project you've taken on. I'm impressed you have so many hives in your garden. It can be difficult keeping them with neighbours nearby. Some people do manage, though, I guess by acting quickly to replace the queens of defensive colonies before these traits become established in the area.

Your garden looks like a labour of love.

 

[Aneebe]

What a wonderful project you've taken on. I'm impressed you have so many hives in your garden. It can be difficult keeping them with neighbours nearby. Some people do manage, though, I guess by acting quickly to replace the queens of defensive colonies before these traits become established in the area.

Your garden looks like a labour of love.

Oh thank you! Trust me, camera angles are everything lol. Fess up - I had major barney time with a neighbour who is a considerable distance from the hives due to frasse. I've never had angry bees here - no issues with stinging but wow I experienced a nutter hive this summer at another site - requeened it instantly. The number in the garden is currently at 5 but in 2024 it will drop to 3 max and I'll redistribute elsewhere. I'm amazed I love them so much.

 

[philat98]

Oh thank you! Trust me, camera angles are everything lol. Fess up - I had major barney time with a neighbour who is a considerable distance from the hives due to frasse. I've never had angry bees here - no issues with stinging but wow I experienced a nutter hive this summer at another site - requeened it instantly. The number in the garden is currently at 5 but in 2024 it will drop to 3 max and I'll redistribute elsewhere. I'm amazed I love them so much.

What a beautiful garden. I like your colourful hives. My parents had one small hive in their garden and the neighbours said they would take it up with the local council.

 

[E&MBees]

My rather soggy north sloping quarter of an acre is a long, thin rectangle with the house plonked 3/4 way to the north. It's about 600' above sea level backing onto the Belfast hills. The garden was established nearly 60 years ago by my garden mad parents. Now, I HATED gardening but in the last years of my teaching career I was told to "teach horticulture to the bad boys". What a baptism of fire! I hated it initially of course but within the year... hmm something changed and by the time early retirement arrived, I'd inherited the now vastly overgrown garden and had started to think about that weird beekeeping thing my dad used to do. Fast forward 6 years and I've now some gardening structure and up to 10 hives at any one time split between here, a community allotment and a farm site. I had to hand dig the whole site/ put down cardboard as it was riddled by couch grass which im still battling. I've renovated the old greenhouse, built a bigger one, a bee shed and got an Arctic barbeque Hut as a nod to the Norwegian side of the family (great for Hallowe'en parties). This is the reason my honey is called Red Hut Honey! I love planting lots of wildflowers (several borage swathes just to see all sorts of bees work it) and I've also let the raised beds go a bit potager, so I've a jumble of anything from artichokes, tayberries, sunflowers, charlotte potatoes to salad stuff to nasturtiums. Rhubarb is dotted all over the borders as a gap filler. Oh and sungold tomatoes rule! Ps I despised Brexit as it's made getting interesting seed potatoes and other fun seeds hard not to say expensive (and that applies to mail order bee stuff too alas)..

What a beautiful garden!
I teach horticulture to so called ‘bad boys’. Mostly they are not bad at all, just confused and unable to cope with our rigid educational system. It’s amazing what a bit of digging in the compost bin and propagating can do, doesn’t just grow plants but self worth and belief too.

 

[Aneebe]

What a beautiful garden. I like your colourful hives. My parents had one small hive in their garden and the neighbours said they would take it up with the local council.

Oh thank you and that's such a shame re your parents. I had thought that my rather long garden would save me from causing annoyance but hmm yes I did get the neighbourhood bully at my door yelling that he was going to "environmental health" a few summers ago. It was incredibly rattling as he caught me off guard. He wanted me to leg it round and clean his conservatory glass for him. Aggh. I just didn't click that it would be an issue when I planned all this. (Strangely the flight path doesn't really seem to pass over our house). When my nice neighbours did admit that they too were getting bombed a bit I reduced to several boxes at home and now have the other sites within a few miles. It's turned a lovely relaxing hobby into a right pain of a chore at times, having to drive off and lug equipment about but at least I can still keep the wee beasties for now and one location is at a lovely community allotment site which is just beautiful to visit.

 

[Aneebe]

What a beautiful garden!
I teach horticulture to so called ‘bad boys’. Mostly they are not bad at all, just confused and unable to cope with our rigid educational system. It’s amazing what a bit of digging in the compost bin and propagating can do, doesn’t just grow plants but self worth and belief too.

Isn't that just true! They drove me mad at times (and the timetabling didn't allow for the time required) but they just weren't suited to classrooms. The hoops I had to make them jump through to produce the file of paper to go with all the practical stuff was such a pain and largely ruined it for them. They really liked the Christmas sale where they could sell some of their projects and also the lunch session we had for them. They got to taste their freshly dug spuds and broad beans with a knob of butter. Poignant to realise how unfamiliar real food was to a lot of them.

 

[Garry R]

Isn't that just true! They drove me mad at times (and the timetabling didn't allow for the time required) but they just weren't suited to classrooms. The hoops I had to make them jump through to produce the file of paper to go with all the practical stuff was such a pain and largely ruined it for them. They really liked the Christmas sale where they could sell some of their projects and also the lunch session we had for them. They got to taste their freshly dug spuds and broad beans with a knob of butter. Poignant to realise how unfamiliar real food was to a lot of them.

I have always reckoned that idle hands are a bad idea. Also after a day of hard work in the garden you are too knackered to get up to mischief!! Well done on career and a wonderful garden. I was brought up in Northern Ireland on the outskirts of Belfast (Mallusk). Still visit occasionally to see very old friends from school but no relatives there now as all have passed on.

 

[E&MBees]

Isn't that just true! They drove me mad at times (and the timetabling didn't allow for the time required) but they just weren't suited to classrooms. The hoops I had to make them jump through to produce the file of paper to go with all the practical stuff was such a pain and largely ruined it for them. They really liked the Christmas sale where they could sell some of their projects and also the lunch session we had for them. They got to taste their freshly dug spuds and broad beans with a knob of butter. Poignant to realise how unfamiliar real food was to a lot of them.

I’ve also worked with children living in deprived areas of Bristol. One little girl had never seen the roots of a plant. Her mum brought her a McDonald’s takeaway each night for dinner. The students I worked with this year cooked freshly picked vegetables and herbs on a camping stove set up In the veg patch. They loved it.

 

[Aneebe]

I’ve also worked with children living in deprived areas of Bristol. One little girl had never seen the roots of a plant. Her mum brought her a McDonald’s takeaway each night for dinner. The students I worked with this year cooked freshly picked vegetables and herbs on a camping stove set up In the veg patch. They loved it.

Bless them.

I have always reckoned that idle hands are a bad idea. Also after a day of hard work in the garden you are too knackered to get up to mischief!! Well done on career and a wonderful garden. I was brought up in Northern Ireland on the outskirts of Belfast (Mallusk). Still visit occasionally to see very old friends from school but no relatives there now as all have passed on.

Thank you Ahem small world! I'm Glengormley right up on the back of the Belfast escarpment. It's now basically adjoining Mallusk with all the sprawl. Some of my bees hang out up near Hightown. It's home but can be a bit of a cold and windy place which seems to have its own rather nasty microclimate.

 

[Garry R]

Bless them.

Thank you Ahem small world! I'm Glengormley right up on the back of the Belfast escarpment. It's now basically adjoining Mallusk with all the sprawl. Some of my bees hang out up near Hightown. It's home but can be a bit of a cold and windy place which seems to have its own rather nasty microclimate.

My Dad worked in Michelin at Mallusk for 10 years then owned and ran the sports and hobbies shop in Glengormley in the 80's opposite Macs the supermarket - wonder if it's still there. I got the Roughfort bus home from school (Belfast Royal Academy) every day. Ended up at Queens doing Biochemistry then a PhD in Bristol. We lived in Cottonmount House beside the cement works. Cottonmount long demolished.

 

[enrico]

My winter cherry is in full flower and full of bees today. Makes you feel good

 

[Aneebe]

My Dad worked in Michelin at Mallusk for 10 years then owned and ran the sports and hobbies shop in Glengormley in the 80's opposite Macs the supermarket - wonder if it's still there. I got the Roughfort bus home from school (Belfast Royal Academy) every day. Ended up at Queens doing Biochemistry then a PhD in Bristol. We lived in Cottonmount House beside the cement works. Cottonmount long demolished.

Garry, nope alas those shops all gone. The entire Ferbro buildings also gone this last year at the junction of Antrim and Ballyclare Rds (remember Walker & Ramsey toy emporium?) I was Ballyclare High then QUB geology PhD but ended up a biology teacher via palaeontology... long story). Cottonmount Arms still going I think and I use my new bus pass on The Roughfort bus weekly lol. Such a small world. Were beekeepers in your family? My dad kept bees post war as I think the sugar shortage here made beekeeping quite a thing. I thought he was MAD loving gardening and keeping stinging insects. I stand corrected!

 

[Garry R]

Garry, nope alas those shops all gone. The entire Ferbro buildings also gone this last year at the junction of Antrim and Ballyclare Rds (remember Walker & Ramsey toy emporium?) I was Ballyclare High then QUB geology PhD but ended up a biology teacher via palaeontology... long story). Cottonmount Arms still going I think and I use my new bus pass on The Roughfort bus weekly lol. Such a small world. Were beekeepers in your family? My dad kept bees post war as I think the sugar shortage here made beekeeping quite a thing. I thought he was MAD loving gardening and keeping stinging insects. I stand corrected!

Dad kept bees in Dublin where I was born but Isle of Wight did for them and he gave up but I was six then but something must hhave rubbed off. Mum was from NI - Dad English but worked for Irish Lights after the war and met Mum in Harcourts Coal where she worked while his ship was recoaling in Belfast,. That was 1949/1950. We moved to NI in 1961 and I stayed until 1974. Now in Somerset (13 years retired) after 34 years in Aberdeen - a beekeeping challenge weatherwise but showed the advantage of poly hives - I still use two of them from 1977!!

 

[Aneebe]

Dad kept bees in Dublin where I was born but Isle of Wight did for them and he gave up but I was six then but something must hhave rubbed off. Mum was from NI - Dad English but worked for Irish Lights after the war and met Mum in Harcourts Coal where she worked while his ship was recoaling in Belfast,. That was 1949/1950. We moved to NI in 1961 and I stayed until 1974. Now in Somerset (13 years retired) after 34 years in Aberdeen - a beekeeping challenge weatherwise but showed the advantage of poly hives - I still use two of them from 1977!!

Love it Garry. So interesting

 

[enrico]

Cheating a bit but this is a very small part of the 3.5 acre garden we tamed in the Shropshire hills. I have moved from there now but having been flicking through some old photos I thought I might share a few. This was our spring water that came out of the hillside into a tank that was our house water and this is the overflow. The water was amazing to drink with no chemicals and is the biggest thing I miss. We dug this top lake which was one of two, which then cascaded down the hill.

 

[enrico]

This was the valley the top lake, when we moved in it was brambles and nettles.

 

[enrico]

This was the bottom lake that we dug out just below another spring. I built the shepherds hut just for the view out across the valley and into Wales. A perfect place for a g & t and to admire the sunset. I wont bore you with any more!

 

[Swarm]

Tough decision to move from there.

 

[enrico]

Tough decision to move from there.

Yep, it was age, I fell down the hill once too often, it was very steep, hence the reason we now live on the levels in Somerset! Sadly our old place is overgrown again but maybe one day someone will discover it as a lost garden!

 

[pargyle]

Yep, it was age, I fell down the hill once too often, it was very steep, hence the reason we now live on the levels in Somerset! Sadly our old place is overgrown again but maybe one day someone will discover it as a lost garden!

How could anyone let that go ? It was beautiful ... I think if I had that on my doorstep they would have to bury me there ... perhaps after sliding down the hill and drowning in one of the lakes after a surfeit of G & T ! What a way to go ...