"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-08-05 07:55:26 +0100, "Ophelia" said:

A report on radio4 this morning, asking people to keep a bee colony in
their
gardens and even on a balcony (for example) for city dwellers. How
practical is this?

You can buy bee boxes for bumble bees and put them up as instructed. It
doesn't have to be a honey bee colony. Three species of bumble bees are
now extinct. ;-(
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon


I have put a bumble bee nest in the garden - I was too late for a queen to
take up residence this year. Hopefully it will get use next year. I do,
however, have a colony of bumble bees in a cavity wall. As they are entirely
beneficial and remarkably docile creatures, I'm quite happy to have them
there. There are far fewer honey bees around than 'normal' this year, but
*lots* of bummlers. I do like bummlers. Plus I've got miner bees in the
garden, which I leave to get on with things too. The bummlers are being very
good at pollinating my beans, tomatoes, courgettes & squashes. I'd love to
have a hive of honey bees, but I do not have the space to put it somewhere
where they can take up residence without causing hassle to passers-by or me.
If I had more space, I'd love to take up beekeeping. So those of us with
gardens can make space for all sorts of pollinating insects even if we can't
keep honey bees. We must also remember to make sure that what we plant will
also supply food for the bees - so a variety of plants is a good idea. As
well as my veggies, I've got buddlhia (sp?), lilac, sunflowers, wisteria,
calendula, viburnum, lavatera, honeysuckle, mint, thyme, sage, chives... all
sorts out there, so they've a fair bit to choose from over many months. Also
I do not use any form of pesticide, and most especially not the systemic
ones which are a possible cause of CCD in honey bees.