Our Beehives

Sustainable Beekeeping
At Wild Garden Seeds

Our orchard apiary contains 5 hives of honeybees. The bees are managed using sustainable beekeeping methods and without impacting other wild pollinators. Our bees help to pollinate local fruit trees, farm crops and many wild flowers in our area. Occasionally we sell small amounts of honey produced by our bees, see below.

History
Honeybees throughout history have always been a valuable resource and have been kept by humans since ancient times. For thousands of years the products of the beehive have been harvested and used in many different ways, whether it be: honey and propolis for food and medicinal purposes or beeswax for candles and preserving. Beehives have taken many forms during this time, from the clay pipe hives used in ancient Egypt, to the log hives in eastern Europe or the mud hives in Siberia - and many more besides, all provided homes for kept bee colonies. In Britain until the 19thc, colonies of bees were kept in straw "Skep" hives and it was only towards the latter part of the century that wooden movable frame hives were introduced, in particular the double walled "WBC" hive invented by William Broughton Carr in c1890, the design of which is still in use today.

"Skep" Hive

"WBC" Hive

"National" Hive

However, the majority of managed bees in the UK are housed in cedar wood movable frame hives with the "National" hive design being the most popular. This simple, if not so quaint hive, emulates approximately the space needed by a colony of bees in the wild and affords easy access to the colony by a beekeeper if required.

The Lifecycle Of The Honeybee
A colony of bees is made up of three kinds of bee: one queen, many thousands of female worker bees and a few hundred male drone bees. It is the queen bee that lays both the male and female eggs within the hive and she will live up to about 6 years. The worker bees, as the name suggests, are responsible for the gathering of nectar and pollen. They are also responsible for producing the propolis and wax for the creation of the bee nest itself. Drone bees have only one purpose and that is to mate with queen bees, they have no duties within the hive and are fed by the workers.

The life cycle of a worker bee is relatively short, anything between 6 and 8 weeks, except at the end of summer a remarkable thing happens, the "winter bees" are born. Unlike the spring and summer bees these winter bees will live considerably longer in some cases up to 6 months due to a slightly different physiology. It is these winter bees that will keep the colony going not just through winter but also into the early part of the year when the queen commences laying eggs again and the spring flowers begin to appear.

Honeybees In Britain
The wild honeybee population in Britain no longer exists as it once did in the past. Current pests, diseases and the loss of habitat mean that honeybees are virtually non existent in the wild and therefore nearly all bee colonies are looked after by beekeepers.

Wild Garden Seeds Beehives
Here at Wild Garden Seeds, in partnership with our local beekeeper John, who looks after our bees and has been a beekeeper for many years, we maintain 5 National style beehives. The hives are located in our fruit orchard in rural Monmouthshire and from spring onwards the bees can freely access our fruit tree blossoms of Apple, Pear, Damson and Plum whilst also foraging across local meadows and farm crops. Typical wild flowers in this area which the bees have been observed visiting are: borage, white & red clover, cornflowers, oxeye daisy, yellow rattle, cowslips and many more.

Beekeeper John

Sustainable Beekeeping
We keep bees for the following reasons: to help contribute to a healthy presence of honeybees in the UK, for study and educational purposes, to help with pollination and to provide a safe, pest and disease free home for colonies to flourish.

Our bees are managed on a not for profit basis using sustainable beekeeping methods utilizing the 5 following key principals:

No exploitation of bees
Minimal colony intervention (hive inspections undertaken only when absolutely necessary)
To maintain a small apiary of bees so as not to impact other local wild pollinators
To assist in the pollination of local fruit trees, farm crops and wild flowers.
No importation of bees (we encourage the natural breeding and reproduction of local bees)

100% Pure Honey For Sale

Occasionally we sell some of our honey when our bees over produce and there is an excess. Our amazing bees source the nectar locally to make delicious natural pure honey. Our honey is cold extracted and not processed in any way (this is sometimes known as raw or pure honey) therefore retaining all of the natural properties of pollen, enzymes and minerals which may provide many health benefits some of which are listed below.

Some Facts & Figures About Honey

Honey never spoils, it crystallizes over time but is perfectly safe to eat.
Honey has been found in 3000 year old Egyptian tombs and was found to be still edible.
Honey has many healing properties and has been used in hospitals for MRSA infections.
It can be used to help heal wounds, rashes and burns.
Eases sore throats and is good for coughs and colds.
Eaten everyday it can help to prevent hay fever.
Can be used to treat a hangover.
Has been used successfully to treat stomach ulcers.
Helps to stabilize blood pressure.
Can help to balance ph levels in the body.
Strengthens the immune system.
Sweeter than sugar, so use less in your cake recipes.
An excellent source of energy.
It may help to reduce symptoms of arthritis.
Many recipes benefit from the use of honey.
Can be used to treat mouth ulcers.
It is anti-inflammatory, anti fungal, antiseptic and has antibiotic properties.
And many more..

Our Own Locally Produced Honey - In Stock ✓

Our Honey is produced by our own bees foraging locally on wild flowers and fruit blossoms. It is a clear honey with a delicate flavour. It is completely natural with no additives.
(Note: Our honey is labelled "Monmouthshire Honey" after the county in which our bees forage).

All prices include postage.

Throughout the year we update this page with information about our bees, check back regularly to see more.

Spring Update 21/4/22.

The orchard is now in full blossom and the bees are working very hard collecting both pollen and nectar. All the colonies have increased dramatically in size with bee numbers approaching normal summer levels already. Drone bees have started to appear and with the dry weather set to continue we would expect to see early swarming. It is from now on that the bees will start their swarming preparations, this is the way a colony naturally reproduces itself. Seeing a swarm in flight is quite an experience. A large cloud of thousands of bees swirling around making quite some noise. In this "excited" state they are not aggressive - even though they appear very intimidating. As soon as a new home is found they calm down dramatically.

The beehives have attracted various wildlife this spring, including: a Rabbit sheltering underneath them from the rain, Hedgehogs continue to wander around and underneath them, Robins, Blackbirds and Magpies opportunistically picking off the odd bee in flight near the hive entrances and Woodpeckers trying to peck holes in the outer casing - fortunately unsuccessfully.

Winter Update 17/1/22.

We are experiencing a surprisingly mild winter here and on many occasions small numbers of bees have been seen leaving the hives and returning with pollen. Even though the last few days have seen night frosts and temperatures dropping to -3 degrees, clear skies and the bright winter sun has encouraged the bees to forage.

As bees have been seen carrying pollen, this is suggestive that the queen has begun to lay eggs again and young bees are imminent. This can present a possible challenge for the colony because if bee numbers start to expand rapidly during this period, stores within the hive will rapidly be depleted. It will be quite sometime before local flowers and blossom are available to support a growing colony, add a sudden dip in temperatures and an extended cold spell and hive food stores could run very low. So this is something our beekeeper John, will be monitoring very closely.

In sheltered areas signs of spring flowers are appearing with Grape Hyacinths now in bloom. Snowdrops, Winter Aconites and Crocuses will soon follow, all of which provide forage for bees. Many other bulb plants are showing green tips above the ground and hopefully we will have an early spring.

Autumn Update 17/10/21.

After a disappointing summer the weather picked up enough in September for the bees to enjoy some late season foraging. They were very busy making up for lost time in August, and with the winter fast approaching, as much stores as possible need to be laid in. Large amounts of pollen were observed being brought into the hives and some nectar too. The queen bees have now all stopped laying eggs and this will remain so until February of next year.

As the bees prepare for winter, our beekeeper John starts insulating parts of the hives in readiness for the cold temperatures ahead. Although not strictly necessary, adding a layer of insulation gives the bees a helping hand. The hives can't be opened during this period, so if temperatures drop to unusually low levels, it would be too late to intervene and some colonies could fail. This "belt & braces" approach gives the bees the best chance of surviving a harsh winter should such a thing happen - although winters of late have proved particularly mild.

When the days become colder, bees fly less and less and inside the hive they form a tight ball shape to retain heat. Between the months of December to January a stillness and silence falls over the hives, a world apart from the busy buzzing of the summer months. This period is of the most concern, if the bees have not brought in enough stores or it becomes too cold for them to move about and access them, they could starve.

Gallery (click images to enlarge)