Beekeeping for Gardeners

A comprehensive gardener's guide to sustainable beekeeping. Beekeeping has changed. While once it was a hobby that pursued the rich rewards of honey and wax, many new beekeepers now instead seek the gratification of knowing that they are aiding the survival of one of the world's most important creatures. Keeping bees today is as much about providing the right habitats and resources to help pollinators thrive as it is about chasing every drop of golden honey. This beautifully illustrated guide to the ancient hobby of beekeeping shows today's gardeners how to create beautiful gardens that are richly rewarding for people and bees alike. Flowers, shrubs, trees and vegetable plots can provide colourful beauty and delicious produce as well as vital pollen and nectar when bees need it the most. There are lists of the top-performing plants and how and where to grow them, including window boxes, lawns, borders, wild gardens and even ponds. Beekeeping for Gardeners looks at the pleasures and benefits of keeping honey bees in gardens of all types and sizes, both rural and urban. It explains the practicalities involved in keeping bees in the domestic garden setting, as well as on rooftops, allotments, parks, farmland and other locations. Importantly, and unlike any book before, this guide sets the delightful hobby of beekeeping within the context of the wider environment, asking how it can best serve the needs of all types of pollinator and the local ecology in general. Whether you're looking to attract more bumblebees and solitary bees or want to install a beehive, this wonderful book contains all the guidance you'll need to have a garden buzzing with bees.

Richard Rickitt is an award-winning author and co-editor of BeeCraft, the UK's best-selling beekeeping magazine, read by beekeepers and entomologists around the world. He has been keeping bees for more than twenty years and keep hives for a number of commercial and private clients. Richard is beekeeper at Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, and he teaches beekeeping courses in the UK and abroad.

Introduction Part One: Keeping honey bees Introducing the honey bee Becoming a beekeeper How to get started Keeping bees Handling bees How to manage swarming Queen and apiary management The rewards of beekeeping Caring for bees in winter Health and hygiene Part Two: Bees in your garden Bumblebees Solitary bees Part Three: Gardens for bees A world outside your back door What to plant for bees Lawns, meadows and wild areas Ponds and damp gardens Shrubs, hedges and trees Garden and farm crops The beekeeping year The best garden plants for bees Recommended further reading Acknowledgements Index