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A comprehensive gardener's guide to sustainable beekeeping.
Beekeeping has changed. While once it was a hobby that pursued the rich rewards of honey and wax, many new beekeepers now instead seek the gratification of knowing that they are aiding the survival of one of the world's most important creatures. Keeping bees today is as much about providing the right habitats and resources to help pollinators thrive as it is about chasing every drop of golden honey.
This beautifully illustrated guide to the ancient hobby of beekeeping shows today's gardeners how to create beautiful gardens that are richly rewarding for people and bees alike. Flowers, shrubs, trees and vegetable plots can provide colourful beauty and delicious produce as well as vital pollen and nectar when bees need it the most. There are lists of the top-performing plants and how and where to grow them, including window boxes, lawns, borders, wild gardens and even ponds.
Beekeeping for Gardeners looks at the pleasures and benefits of keeping honey bees in gardens of all types and sizes, both rural and urban. It explains the practicalities involved in keeping bees in the domestic garden setting, as well as on rooftops, allotments, parks, farmland and other locations. Importantly, and unlike any book before, this guide sets the delightful hobby of beekeeping within the context of the wider environment, asking how it can best serve the needs of all types of pollinator and the local ecology in general.
Whether you're looking to attract more bumblebees and solitary bees or want to install a beehive, this wonderful book contains all the guidance you'll need to have a garden buzzing with bees.
Introduction
Part One: Keeping honey bees
- Introducing the honey bee
- Becoming a beekeeper
- How to get started
- Keeping bees
- Handling bees
- How to manage swarming
- Queen and apiary management
- The rewards of beekeeping
- Caring for bees in winter
- Health and hygiene
Part Two: Bees in your garden
- Bumblebees
- Solitary bees
Part Three: Gardens for bees
- A world outside your back door
- What to plant for bees
- Lawns, meadows and wild areas
- Ponds and damp gardens
- Shrubs, hedges and trees
- Garden and farm crops
The beekeeping year
The best garden plants for bees
Recommended further reading
Acknowledgements
Index
Richard Rickitt is an award-winning author and co-editor of BeeCraft, the UK's best-selling beekeeping magazine, read by beekeepers and entomologists around the world. He has been keeping bees for more than twenty years and keep hives for a number of commercial and private clients. Richard is beekeeper at Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, and he teaches beekeeping courses in the UK and abroad.
"A visually captivating guide, essential for all bee enthusiasts and garden lovers. It provides precise instructions on nurturing honey and bumble bees, accompanied by a helpful guide on the plants that attract and support our vital pollinators."
– Jekka McVicar, award-winning herb garden designer and writer
"Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated – this is surely the garden bee bible."
– Dr George McGavin, broadcaster, entomologist and author
"Richard immerses the reader in the wonderful world of bees. This book is informative, entertaining and compelling – it's the bees' knees!"
– Sarah Mead, Chelsea gold medal-winner and head gardener at Yeo Valley Organic Gardens
"Expert advice from a leading beekeeper. Whether you want to keep bees, encourage bees to your garden or just learn more about them, this is the book you need."
– Professor Jurgen Tautz, author and world-renowned bee researcher
