This very mild autumn has meant that there has been plenty of forage for the bees. Yesterday I noticed that they were heading towards our neighbour’s garden – she has a couple of large Fatshedera which are currently in full flower.

My bulb order arrived last week and I’ve been making the most of the beautiful days to get them planted out.

I’ve put a few hundred crocus bulbs in our tiny front lawn, so I’m hoping for a good display! Early bulbs are a vital source of pollen for bees, with luck other people will be inspired to plant some too.

Earlier in the year there were bees all over this Fushia – we pass it most days and it was humming with activity. Now it has these deep purple fruits, which are really tasty. I only recently discovered that Fushia fruit is edible and I’m a bit annoyed that I’ve been missing out all these years. The closest thing I can compare the taste to is kiwi fruit. I’d like to find out which variety of Fushia this is, the other ones locally were not so attractive to the bees and consequently have very little fruit.

Today I went to inspect our Hendon hives. I was expecting them to be slowing down now that the days are shortening and the temperatures are beginning to drop. I had taken boxes to store the empty super frames, insulated boards to help keep the colonies warm and feeders incase they were needed.

The bees have other ideas though… One hive is absolutely bursting with honey and the bees are extremely busy. There is an abundance of ivy and asters in flower around the hives, which the bees are feasting on. In a few weeks I’ll split the honey so that it is equally shared between the colonies and with luck I shouldn’t need to feed them any sugar or fondant over the winter.

For the past week or so our home bees have been frantically foraging, the hive entrances are really busy with bees coming and going. They are arriving with heavy loads – sometimes crash landing on the landing boards! Most of the pollen being brought in is pale yellow/grey which means that the ivy is finally flowering. This is the final chance to fill their stores for the cold months ahead.

Sure enough, when we walked past Highgate Cemetery earlier we found this…