Beehives No. 3...

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?

We'll gather lilacs...

I was listening recently to Kirsty Young interview Sir Roy Strong (previous director of the National Portrait Gallery and V&A Museum) on Desert Island Discs, and was interested in one of his choices being an excerpt from Ivor Novello's King's Rhapsody. He said he loved the smaltzy romantic style of the Novello operetta.

Above: Mr Ivor Novello

I can remember first discovering and being captivated by Ivor Novello's music when Gosford Park was released in 2002. I was in London and spending Christmas with Peter, having met him less than a month before. He suggested that we watch a recently released movie while dinner was cooking. We watched Gosford Park, and along with the amazing set, costumes, and outstanding cast, was Jeremy Northam's portrayal of the young Ivor Novello.

The sweeping melodies of "Land of might have been", "Waltz of my heart", "I can give you the starlight", and the more comical "And her mother came too" were my foray into this nostalgic world of my grandparent's time.

There was clearly more Novello out there to be had, I decided after Sir Roy's interview, so I went in search of it and I came across a BBC Proms concert from 2012 celebrating the life and works of Novello. The 90 minute affair was narrated by Simon Callow, who led One on a journey of Mr Novello's life - I was not aware (although hardly surprised) that the Welsh songsmith (originally David Ivor Davies) was gay and had a partner of some 35 years, the actor Bobbie Andrews. The orchestra, along with soprano Sophie Bevan and tenor Toby Spence, performed many opuses unknown to me, but very popular in their day. One I had heard of was "We'll gather lilacs (in the Spring)".

Having enjoyed the song I reflected - why haven't We lilacs to gather this Spring? So I decided to do something about it…

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) are a fragrant flowering member of the Olive family, which although a native of the Bulkan mountains, are thought of as being very English. They were introduced to the British Isles sometime in the 16th century. 

They come in an array of colours, from white and cream to pink, purple and blue...

We have decided to plant a thicket of them in Little Hollows, the name we have given to the southwest corner of the garden. We've chosen the cultivar Katherine Havemeyer, a lavender flower fading to pink:

When I pick them I shall think of the Ivor Novello song, We'll gather lilacs...

We'll gather lilacs in the Spring again,

And walk together down an English lane,

Until our hearts have learnt to sing again,

When you come home once more.

And in the evening by the firelight's glow

You'll hold me close and never let me go,

Your eyes will tell me all I long to know,

When you come home once more.

from Perchance to dream, by Ivor Novello.

Ivor's ashes are interred beneath a lilac bush at Golders Green Crematorium.