Willowbrook Park: September 2015

Further to our previous post: Bees, Boles and Bears, Beehives 1 and Beehives 2, this post is to share an exciting new form of beehive which is minimally invasive on bees at the time of harvest, and so much easier to harvest from. No more masks and spaceman suits. The modern apiarist is about to change...

First though, we had planned to make some ornamental beehives for the potager garden or orchard. The beehives we previously had on the farm have moved on, but we still want to have honey bees as they need protection, and we need them to pollinate all our fruits trees and provide our guests local honey. We had decided to essentially build a more decorative version of the standard Langstroth hive that most people would be familiar with.

I came across these photos of some ornamental hives that have been built for the rooftop of Fortnum and Mason in the middle of Piccadilly which I liked and planned to model our new hives on....

I love the design of their hives, as well as that F&M colour. The shape reminds me of a diagram I found of an antique beehive...

The langstroth hive has been the standard type of hive for eaons. Although they are better for a colony than a woven skep, which can only be harvested with the compete destruction of the hive, their time has come to an end...

The flow frame is perfect for novice apiarists like ourselves because of the ease with which you can harvest the honey.

One just inserts a tube and cranks a lever and away it flows...

Here is a video clip explaining how this new system works. We will definitely be supporting Flow Hives.

We plan to have the best of both worlds - we will buy three complete flow hives and then add ornamental woodwork to the outside, such as creating a little front porch over the main door; and paint them a similar colour to the F&M hives (actually a duck egg blue to match the trellis obelisks in the potager).

We already have a friend who can get us a swarm of bees.

Now we just need to decide where at Willowbrook to make our bee garden. Perhaps Spencer's Corner, or Little Hollows?

Recently, whilst staying with my father in Denver, we got to try out a pair of pedego bikes he had bought. Pedego electric bicycles of Newport are one of the best ebikes on the market, being known for their reliability and durability as well as performance. If you have never tried an ebike before, they are battery assisted bicycles, which can be used in 3 ways - the usual calory intensive way; assisted mode, where one pedals at one's own pace and the motor picks up the slack; or motor only, where one can sit back and just enjoy the ride. They are capable of 8 hours of unassisted riding per charge, or longer if you are intermittently peddling, and travel up to 30 kph on motor alone (all controlled by the twist of the wrist, like a motorbike.

Of all the models, I quite fancy the City Commuter (above and below).

So Peter and I thought it would be a neat idea to buy a pair for guests to use at Willowbrook. There are plenty of country cycle paths through native bush and along rivers, including a short walk / cycle path to a lovely picnic glad just a few miles down the road. Guests could take a lovely packed picnic lunch with them and go on a morning cycle tour of the countryside with a romantic picnic for lunch, and not have to worry about finding the energy to get home again!

Above: The shorter cycle path to the picnic area (*WBP)

Below: A slightly longer country ride along scenic country lanes.

Guests could recapture the excitement of their first bike...

in style...

One could rock the casual, nonchalant look...

or perhaps go the extra mile and done the country tweeds (like participants in the tweed run)...

although there are limits...

To ensure that special Willowbrook boutique experience we will trick the bikes out with traditional wicker hampers on the rear (which will nicely hide the battery pack). Full of gourmet goodies - fresh bread, cheese, fruit, strawberries and cream, and perhaps even bubbles for two!