THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Harlow Beekeepers
Last Thursday night I was invited to give a talk ‘Planting for Pollinators’ at Harlow Bees, a beekeeping group who help promote the craft of keeping bees in Harlow.
It was an interesting evening exploring how two complementary crafts – beekeeping and gardening – co-exist in there similar aims of helping bees (and other pollinators.)
Below are some notes answering questions the group asked me from the talk:
1. The Best Plants For Bees
- helenium
- sedum
- oregano
- borage
- veronicastrum
- teucrium
- calamint
- eupatorium
- centaurea
- lavender
This research comes from the work done by Rosi Rollings at Rosybee. She has been asking the question ‘which bee-friendly plants attract the most bees?’
You can read why and how she set-up this work in this interview we made with her a few years ago.
2. This is what Helenium, the most valuable plant for bees, looks like…
It is easy to grow, makes a great cut flower and is beautiful too. Get it into your gardens!
3. Remember the following when choosing flowers for the garden…
Right plant, right place – a happy, healthy plant growing in conditions it enjoys will provide preferred forage for the bees.
Plant in blocks of flowers, so that bees don’t waste energy trying to find another nectar/pollen source.
Get some blossoming trees into your gardener early in the year.
Topiary is easier to look after – a plant like Escallonia is great for clipping but also a bee magnet, so can be left uncut (and so full of flowers) until it grows too large for your garden… then you can easily reduce it down to size and let it start growing again, year on year.
4. Using Pesticides, Herbicides or Insecticides will harm your bees
If your garden flowers are suffering from pest damage, plant trees. These will provide somewhere for birds to visit, who in turn will deal with the bug problem.
No flower is too important or special it needs to be sprayed with a poison to make it look better. Plus, the best flowers for bees normally don’t show the art of the plant breeder – note the Helenium above!
5. Plant organic bulbs
You can read all about that in this blog Organic Bulbs.
Or via John Walker, the Earth Friendly Gardener, in the Telegraph.
We will make an order for Bee Friendly Bulbs in the summer, so will let you know then if you want to buy some!
If you live in and around Harlow and want to know more about bees and beekeeping – why not get in touch with the group?
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!