April 2012

Following the tropical March, and despite the April monsoon my remaining colony was large enough to split in mid April. It produced Queen cells on two frames and i decided to subdivide it hoping got make good last years losses.

March 2012

Well, we're now in May and although this grim weather is letting me catch up here i find myself wishing it was March again. I'm still wondering if that was our summer this year and am remembering thinking it wasn't the best sign to end up narrowly avoiding sunburn so early in the year.

Back in March....



The hens where coming back in to full lay and Marans / Silkie cross (5th from the left) had started giving us green eggs. Given the Maran lays dark brown and the Silkie white eggs this is definitely not the colour expected. Most of the girls give us an egg a day so i shan't be grumbling about the colour.



Omelettes where back on the menu.  As was cauliflower cheese bake.



In the nearby woods the first Comma of the year was seen out and about.



Over at the "Lost Plot" the bees where out and about gathering pollen from Gorse, Hazel, and here seem to have found some dandelions. See more on the Bees page.



Back on 17 > 19 the tulips on the corner where out almost two months earlier than last year






Looking back it was as if the spring bulbs this year knew what was to come as they all seemed to come out over a short time. At least the sun allowed some pleasant days clearing down the dead stems and digging in the compost.

Febuary

Well, i have to say that if i'd known the weather was going to do what it has i would have pushed myself to get a lot more done this month. Most of the activity was cutting down perennial stems and turning compost.

Over at "the lost plot'' the bees where making the most of milder spells and fetching in loads of pollen from Hazel and Gorse. The house bees where trying to clear out the winter casualties but mouse guard was causing problems in both directions so was removed.



Colder spells gave clearer skies and some amazing displays of iridescence towards the end of the month.

Flower Swaps 2012

Have now updated the Swaps page with my annual and perennials for 2012.  Post me a comment if there is anything you fancy.

Veg & Herb Seeds to Swap

Hi , can't believe its suddenly March.  Have sorted out my home-saved seed and updated the Swap page with the Veg & herbs i have spare of this year.  Flowers &c to follow soon.

January 2012

Not much happening, a lot of windy weather heralding a Dragon year (?), some nice sunsets and the seed catalogues starting to arrive.

Last call for 2011

I am making this the last retrospective post for 2011. After the trauma of the apiary vandals  i found it difficult to remain positive about the whole thing and concentrated on activity rather than documentation. Anyhow its high time i was planning for the next cycle. I have also updated the Annuals, Bees and Misc pages.

In the mean while here is something i prepared earlier.

Update for AUGUST 2011

As you can see i have  changed the background as i felt the floor boards weren't working.  The biggest news in August involved the bees over at the "lost plot".  I acquired two  5 frame "nuc's" at the end of June, these where fed Syrup to help them build up. By the 3rd week of August they had both filled two brood boxes so i took off the feed and added supers.




I had absolutely no idea of what was about to happen , see the 'Bees' page for the rest of the story.

July 2011

July saw the bees expanding well...




And the heirloom peas starting to crop...




The Salmon flowered pea (above) is beautiful but with all the flowers at the top of the stem does tend to crop all at once on each plant. Varience between plants and successional plantings give a better coverage.

Another of this years swop introductions was Carruthers Purple Podded. It looks fantastic,  cropped well and is by far the sweetest of all the purple podded varieties i have tried.

Update for June 2011

Hi , things where all abuzz this month and there was excitement at the plot .  Flowers are out every where and the crops are growing well despite the very low rain fall.  Of course once Wimbledon started so did the weather. So here are some pics for June.

The Limnanthes or Poached Egg plant is now flowering all down the borders where it self seeded last year and doing its job well as a pollinator attractant.


One of my all time favourites is the Pyrethrum especially this deep shade with the contrasting centre.


A similar shade but different Style is Knautia macedonica. I love the airy feel of the plant and the way the flowers dance. The bumble bees love it too.


The Bumblers Also like The Comfrey flowers. I have quite a strip of this now and cut it in rotation for making concentrated plant food and layering in the compost heap as an activator.  This bee has actually chewed a hole through the side of the flower to get to the nectar.  Just as well i have the Russian clumping comfrey and don't depend on seed for next year but this behaviour will also give access to insects with shorter tongues than this bee.


While transferring some comfrey to the compost heap I was lucky to catch sight of something quite unusual. Not so much rare exactly but all the same seldom seen

Mr Mole! I guess he wouldn't be here if there wasn't plenty of worms.

Also providing food for the insects, but this time in the form of pollen are these gorgeous Oriental poppies.


Seemingly of more interest to flies than bees are my three or four clumps of Ox-eye daisy.

And as for the excitement I mentioned....The beekeeping course has now finished , i enjoyed it so much an learn a collossal amount, but, just as I had resigned myself to  a winter of slow construction and, due to poor local availability,the dim possibility of obtaining some bees next year i got a call. Cue frantic activity and a new page to record it .