Product Description

This is a comprehensive and attractive lifestyle guide to beekeeping - from finding your bees to getting them home, housing them, collecting honey and using their produce.It includes a detailed look at the history of bees and beekeeping, and an extensive introduction to help you to fully understand your bees and keep them happy.Whether you have a tiny balcony or acres of land; live in the middle of a city or in the countryside surrounded by flowers, this book caters for every situation, discussing the different types of hive available for every eventuality.It features a detailed section on gardening for bees, as well as comprehensive advice on how to safely collect your honey and wax, with recipes and ideas on how to use them."Bees" fuses contemporary lifestyle design and an authoritative text, to appeal not only to those who already have bees, but to those who are thinking of having them or even just like the idea of having them - it will 'sell the dream'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6550 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
Review from Kitchen Gardner - It is an easy-to-read guide on all you need know about keeping bees. Beautiful colour photographs. The books is very reader friendly and inspirational. --Kitchen Gardner

Review from Country Smallholding - Illustrates the huge enjoyment you will derive from having one of nature's most wondrous creatures residing in your garden. --Country Smallholding

Review from East London Enquirer - Set to be a huge hit with all the honey lovers out there! --East London Enquirer

Review from Amateur Gardening - This soft back is a great point at which to start getting to know more about the process. It's a colourful, easy to follow read that looks at everything from the kit you'll need to caring for bees in winter. --Amateur Gardening

This comprehensive guide covers everything a beginner will need. If you are serious in starting out in beekeeping then you should look at this book. --NFU Countryside

This comprehensive guide covers everything a beginner will need. If you are serious about starting out in beekeeping then you should look at this book. --NFU Countryside

About the Author
Alison Benjamin is a Guardian journalist. She writes on environmental issues and social affairs and currently edits The Guardian's environment website. Brian McCallum is a designer, builder and yachtsman. She and Brian - who now studies apiculture - have many hives in different locations across London. Their blog, www.urbanbees.co.uk provides a fascinating insight into beekeeping in the city.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.

Thinking of keeping bees - read this
This is the first book I have purchased on keeping bees and really it gives you everything you would want to know if you are starting bee keeping.
It is full of practical advice, explains everything in simple, straightforward, step by step terms and short of hands on experience, has to give the clearest picture of what is involved in keeping bees.
The book is well produced with lots of excellent photographes and is a pleasure to read.
First Cass

Pretty but not that helpfull
Have to agree with another review here that this is more suitable as a coffee table browser.
It's a pretty package of a book with nice colour photographs but found it shallow and more of a magazine article than a book.
OK as a taster I suppose but you would be far better off spending your money on another beginners book and if you intend to go the natural way, 'The Barefoot Beekeeper' is a must.