How to help bees in East Devon:
Spotlight on Bees
Since appearing on BBC Spotlight on
Wednesday 8 May, the Countryside team has received numerous requests from members
of the public for bee box kits and advice on attracting solitary bees to their
gardens. Species such as the Red Mason Bee and the Leafcutter Bee will lay
their eggs in the boxes, which are easy to make using the instructions provided
by the Countryside Rangers. Most people are now aware of the decline in our bee
population, and its adverse effect on the pollination of flowers and fruit
trees, and the response from the East Devon public, who are keen to do their
bit for the bees, has been very encouraging. If you would like to order a bee
box kit, (cost £7.50 with instructions) please contact the Countryside team on 01395
517557 or email countryside@eastdevon.gov.uk
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Thanks to:
Claire Wright - Your Independent East Devon District Councillor for Ottery Rural
At last week's Chelsea Flower Show, bee hotels were the rage:
Amy Curtis, a finalist in the “fresh talent garden design competition”,
has created an “urban bee hotel”. Set among flowering plants, she has drilled
small holes into pieces of wood, which are the perfect size for solitary bees
to lay their eggs. “Solitary bees don’t live in hives, but they’re responsible
for 90 per cent of pollination of plants and flowers in the UK,” she said. “I
wanted to show how you can do something in an urban environment to help bees,
and make it look beautiful as well.”
Solitary bees, which don’t sting and are harmless, lay their larva in
the holes, then cover them up with mud. The new bees hatch and make their way
out. In the couple of days the “hotel” has been installed at the show, quite a
few bees have already been born.
"I loved the Fresh Gardens mini-garden
stands – this is a detail from The Urban Bee Hotel by Amy Curtis
featuring some lovely sedum."
Chelsea Flower Show 2013 | Ursula's Cambridge Garden
More ideas from the RHS and the Chelsea Flower Show:
Plants for pollinators / RHS Gardening
Make a bee hotel
Honeybee
numbers are falling, so by giving them a home you'll be encouraging nature into
your garden and helping bee populations.
What you'll
need
A terracotta
plant pot (9 – 15cm in size)
Modelling clay
Plastic straws or bamboo canes
String
What to do
1. Cut the straws or bamboo canes to a length that
fits the depth of your pot. If you are using bamboo canes you will need a grown
– up to carry out this part as it’s tricky.
2. Tie the bundle of straws or canes together with a
piece of string.
3. Place some modelling clay in the bottom of the pot
and stick the bundle of straws or canes in to the clay.
4. Place the pot horizontally in your garden in a
quiet place for the bees to move in.
And to finish in East Devon:
The Beekeeper and The Bee by Kate
Lynch
Exhibition: Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton:
11
May to 29 June 2013
‘The Beekeeper and the Bee’ – an exhibition by popular
Somerset based artist Kate Lynch – is the culmination of nearly three years spent
shadowing local beekeepers and their swarms. Expressive charcoal drawings and atmospheric
oil paintings chronicle the seasonal work of beekeepers, from the first opening
of the hive in spring, through busy summer, with the capture of the swarm and the
spinning of honey, into busy sheds in winter, and the weaving of a bee skep.
Portraits of beekeepers are
interspersed with paintings of bees foraging on hedgerows, flowers, crops and
blossom. Most of the drawings and paintings on show will be for sale.
[Opening The Hive by Kate Lynch, above]
The artworks are accompanied by
conversations with beekeepers recorded in text and sound which play in the gallery.
Signed copies of the accompanying book ‘The Beekeeper and The Bee’ will be on
sale in the gallery shop at £15 each.
[Bee on Snowdrop by Kate Lynch, right]
Thelma Hulbert: New Acquisitions A
fresh display of works by Thelma Hulbert recently acquired from RAMM, Exeter,
will also be shown upstairs at the gallery for the duration of this exhibition.
This will include some of Thelma’s Seascape paintings. Free Family Drop-in
‘Bees and Flowers’ Workshop with Kate Lynch at THG Thursday 30 May,11am-4pm. All welcome. Children to be accompanied by an
adult. Free admission but donations welcomed. All donations help to support the
THG learning and exhibition programme. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield
House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 ILX www.thelmahulbert.com
10am–5pm, Tuesday – Saturday, Free Admission
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