The Bee-Kind Garden

The lives of bees are interwoven with our own, but how much do you know about them?
Which scents do bees prefer? How do bees transport pollen? How far can bees fly? Do specific colours attract bees? Do bees prefer native flowers?
Bees are a delight to see in the garden on warm summer days, buzzing as they flit from flower to flower. They are also vital for the future of the planet and without their dedicated pollinating skills, many crops would eventually fail. Then there is honey - a near-miraculous elixir that in earlier generations was an integral part of life as a sweetener and food preserver. It can be fermented with water and yeast to create mead, a drink that has been enjoyed for thousands of years.
The Bee-Kind Garden reveals the many facets of the lives of bees, including their hives, flight patterns and defence. It is filled with helpful information on important topics such as which flowers are best for attracting bees to your garden, beekeeping equipment and guidance for extracting honey as well as the art of talking to bees. It also celebrates the charming proverbs, limericks and verse bees have inspired.
This delightfully illustrated book is a homage to bees and to ensuring that they continue to live in harmony with humans in bee-friendly gardens.

David Squire has a lifetime's experience with plants. He studied botany and gardening at the Hertfordshire College of Horticulture and at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden as Wisley, Surrey, where he gained the Wisley Diploma in Horticulture. He also was awarded an N.K. Gould Memorial Prize for his collection of herbarium specimens of native British plants. In 2005, this collection of plants was accepted by the Booth Museum of Natural History, Brighton, Sussex, to become part of the library and museum exhibits of Brighton and Hove. David's passionate interest in native plants ranges from eating and survival to their historical roles in medicine, folklore and customs. His interest in honey bees dates back to late school years when he kept bees. Throughout his gardening and journalist career, David has written more than eighty books on plants, gardening and insects, as well as dogs and self-sufficiency, including keeping chickens. David's books have been sold in twenty countries and The Scented Garden won the Garden Writer's of America 'Quill and Trowel' award.

Introduction
Getting to know bees
Attracting bees
Where do bees live?
Bee-keeping equipment
Talking to bees
Honey, mead and wax
Proverbs, limericks and verse
Index