Our bees are still there. I saw them hovering around a week ago despite the cold. I don't know why they are out so early as there is a shortage of flowers around, but hopefully they know what they are doing.
The thing about having a colony of bees in the chimney is that they actually don't cause any trouble. We don't have a fire in the hearth under the chimney, and when they installed the new gas fire the smoke test was unaffected. The bees aren't blocking fumes and presumably are unaffected. Obviously they do benefit from the warmth which may be drifting up there, and the fact that it is on a south facing slope. And that there is a lot of waste land around full of plants. And some gardens around here have flowers (some don't!). And there is farmland, and some attempts at woodland. There is also a lot of factory/warehouse type places that have lots of buddleia growing around the edges which are heaven for bees and butterflies. I live in a bit of a hodge podge area, and it does have its benefits.
The bees have been around for years, and have never been any bother. They have hardly been in the house over the years. They haven't stung anyone to my knowledge. They keep themselves to themselves and all is fine. I do get a bit stressed if they swarm, but that isn't common and they haven't caused any trouble then either.
I am wondering about buying some bee-friendly seeds. They can't go in the garden. Darling father has Views about what goes in the garden and while it does include some very bee friendly stuff, no-one had better mess with his roses. I could scatter them on the wasteland and hope the local starlings and sparrows don't get them, and it would make it a lot prettier. As I haven't done much to look after the bees so far perhaps I ought to make an effort.
I just wish I got some honey out of it.
2 comments:
The Herb Society spent a whole year looking at plants which help support bees a couple of years ago. What I learned was they need succession flowers to support them and they prefer dark flowers in many cases to light coloured ones. You might want to make a note of what is flowering locally each month and see if any months there are no flowers, in which case you could consider growing something to fill in the gaps. I've been growing masses of marjoram and mint as the bees love these flowers, but this year I'm going to cull some of them as I need the ground for vegetables. You can find out how to contact your local beekeepers by googling the National Beekeepers Association. I'm lucky in that my nearest one lives just a road away from me and I try to remember to stock up on her honey in September. She sells me wax for salves as well, which is an added bonus.
Sarah - thank you! Father works really hard at keeping flowers in the garden, and we have a monster of a honeysuckle which should have sweet peas with it as well this year will help. I shall keep an eye out, and remember to put water out as well! WS xxx
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