Bee enthusiast and honey maker extraordinaire, Steve Benbow of The London Honey Company will be showing us how to keep bees in the city in his talk at GROW this Sunday. Here he tells us why he started keeping bees in the centre of London and reveals his guilty bee-keeping pleasure too!
What inspired you to start keeping bees?
My grandmother and the idea of bringing a little bit of the countryside to London
Describe your garden/gardening style
Unkempt
Favourite London garden/outside space?
The roof of Fortnum & Mason or the Tate, where my bees are
Guilty bee-keeping pleasure?
I have sometimes carried out a ritual towards the end of the year that involves having a tot of whisky on the roof of Fortnum & Mason. I toast the bees, wish them a safe winter and thank them for their hard work over the previous year
Which tool couldn’t you be without?
My smoker – which calms the bees before we handle the hive
Most unusual thing you’ve found in your garden?
A slow worm
Favourite book?
A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla by Leigh Hunt (published in 1859)
Who or what makes you laugh?
My son, Ned
Biggest bee-keeping disaster?
Breaking heavily on the south circular a few years ago with bees stacked on the front seat of the car. I had to abandon the vehicle for a couple of hours until the bees had calmed down!
Favourite type of honey?
Greek thyme honey
When you’re in your garden, what do you spend most of your time doing?
Glazing over in a rare state of relaxation and slumber!
Here at GROW, we are very keen to help our wonderful British bumbles and so have chosen a few exhibitors specifically with bees in mind. On Beefayre’s stand you will find their Seeds for Bees’ cards which are a great way to help grow the flowers bees love. You don’t need a big garden for them as the native wildflower seed mix will thrive in pots, and, even better, Beefayre donates 3% of its profits to bee conservation work and research in the UK.
Kabloom’s fantastic Pollinator Beebom, or Urban Bee Wildflower Mix (find them in the Hothouse), are another great way to encourage bees into your garden – or any patch of land near your garden – simply soak it and throw!
Of course, you will find lots of bee-friendly plants from the nurseries at GROW too. John Cullen Gardens in particular specialises in plants for pollinators and will be able to advise on the best to suit your garden.