Now we’re into November the garden show season seems like it was a lifetime ago, but of course the behind the scenes preparation for such events is a year-round thing. Hortus Loci are one of the nurseries responsible for growing the amazing plants shown at the likes of Chelsea and Tatton,and we were delighted to sit down for a chat with their General Manager, Michael Buck, to find out a little more about what goes on at a modern plant nursery… Read the rest of this entry »
We published this picture of Brian, our Potter, at his workshop in Stoke on Trent on our Facebook page and got a lot of “likes”. Everyone likes a happy face! He’s a fantastic potter running a family business with a real passion for producing good pottery. Read the rest of this entry »
Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog. One of this year’s resolutions was to get the beepalace up and running. It’s been a fantastic year – thank you for all your support!
We have had a very busy lead up to Christmas, attending fairs at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Stansted Park and The Kennels at Goodwood. The reception to the beepalace has been very heart warming and we look forward to hearing how the new beepalace owners get on in the Spring. With a preponderance of beepalaces going to people living in England we are going to also follow the fortunes of beepalaces in the Hebrides (pretty much experimental this one – will the beepalace survive the gale force winds!!), Northern Germany and Australia. I hope that all beepalace owners will be just as excited as we are when the bees set up home. It is an amazing sight and very gratifying.
Since I last wrote here the government published it’s National Pollinator Strategy for Bees and Other Pollinators. Some good things will come out of this. There is a focus on individuals doing their bit to support pollinators by providing nesting places and growing the type of plants, fruit and flowers that pollinators need. We should hopefully see a lot more wild meadows in the future and a better “joined up” approach to educating people about pollinators.
The amount of media coverage for bees and pollinators has continued to ride high with even The Archers giving a balanced view on the ban on neonicotinoids.
In December The Times reported that scientists had sneakily selected research to advance the case against neonicotinoids. It was pointed out that the Agricultural industry had been accused of doing the opposite – a plot is a foot! or plots are a feet! The debate will run and run.
We must have spoken to a few hundred people at the Fairs we attended in the last three months. The vast majority did not know what a solitary bee was until we explained them. Just in doing this we feel the beepalace is making its mark.
In the New Year we shall be offering some new colours and hopefully some new bee-related products.
A bit like the bees, we will be dormant for a few weeks in January.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Behind every beepalace is a cheerful message and the occasional very bad pun!
