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.
Last night was the London Honey Show, which is held at the Lancaster Hotel. We are so excited that our home honey won the “Best Rooftop Honey” award! I’m so thrilled that our bees have done so well this year.
The show was a really good experience – lots of interesting stalls to look at, enthusiastic people, and a particularly interesting talk about bumble bees by Dave Goulson. He was very inspiring and has made me think more about how we can introduce even more insect friendly plants into our garden.
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.
When we extract the honey it isn’t jarred straight away. First we leave it to settle for a few days in a large stainless steel tank. This allows any air bubbles to rise to the top, making a scum on the surface which can then be skimmed off. This scum is perfectly edible, so we put it into our large honey pots that live on our kitchen worktop. It feels so luxurious having honey permanently on standby!
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…
Here it is! Lots 1 to 7 from left to right. I’m staggered at the contrast in colours and flavours, all delicious! The most extreme difference is between the second jar from the left and the second jar from the right, they were both taken from the same hive, just one month apart.
We have finally got round to jarring our final lot of honey for this year. It is such a beautiful deep amber colour – perfectly matching these golden days we are enjoying at the moment.
The Choisya in our garden has just started flowering again and the bees are absolutely loving it! This is such a good bee plant, as it flowers twice a year – spring and autumn, just when the bees need an extra nectar boost.
There is also a lot of Sedum just coming out in our neighbourhood, we pass several patches of it on our walk to school and they are all busy with bees at the moment.
When I was arrived at the honey show last night I was astonished to see that our honey had won the medium colour class. Someone told me that I really should look at the other categories too.
I glanced across the jars of honey to see that I’d got 2nd in the novice class and a highly commended in the cut comb category.
Then my jaw hit the floor when I saw that I’d also won the dark honey class and that honey had also been awarded the Best Honey in the Show prize!
I’m absolutely thrilled that our bees have done so well and am still wandering around with a huge grin on my face.
The show was really interesting – I am in awe of those who produced beautiful blocks of wax and candles. The judge gave a very interesting talk about the things that he looks for when judging, such as shining a powerful torch into the honey to check for any debris or bubbles.
The children were really excited this morning when I told them how it had gone, and as soon as M had finished his breakfast he raced upstairs to thank the bees and tell them that they make the best honey ever!
We will soon be adding all these honeys to our little shop, so you will be able to taste them for yourself.