I frequently tell myself how blessed I am to live in such a lovely location as NE Cheshire and today confirmed that thought.
We had a family trip to The Easter Egg Hunt at Hare Hill Gardens, Cheshire. Come walk with me.
History
In the 18th century, William Hibbert bought Hare Hill, in Cheshire, and built a house on the estate. He wanted to impress everyone with his wealth and had the gardens designed and landscaped. The estate was purchased and further developed by the Brocklehurst family who made a walled garden and a woodland garden.
The gardens were left eventually to The National Trust and the house was sold privately. The National Trust have maintained the gardens as the previous owners would have wished.
The photos are all my own taken today and not photo-shopped or changed other than cropped.
Blarney Castle and Gardens, County Corkon 06/01/2023
An Cóbh, Corcaigh, Eireon 05/29/2023
Dublin ; The Book of Kellson 04/04/2023
The Bee Tree Community CIC;- an online support communityon 08/24/2022
Comments
Good evening Derdriu. Thank you for commenting.
Upon the death of the owner the gardens were given to the National Trust, I assume to avoid dreadful UK inheritance taxes. The Hall was privately sold so Hare Hill Hall is in private ownership. I don't know who owns it now. It is valued at US$ 7,803,000.00 ( nearly US 8m ) so it isn't anyone I would know! :) We couldn't even get close to it.
The tubes were in the bee hotel already as it appears to be like the inside of a nest therefore, I bought it like that. We need bees for pollination and thereby food production. and should all be trying to attract bees to our plots. The UK is very proactive regarding global warming and environmental issues. In fact this week , a 25 year plan for protecting nature is being published.
Our local town council issues us all with recycling bins so that everything is recycled- paper, food waste, card, glass, plastic, garden waste.
The rhododendrons are out a bit early this year because the North of England has an unusually mild winter and therefore early Spring. The warden reckons the rhododendrons should be in full bloom in about 3 weeks so we are going back. Bliss.
Veronica, Do you know who owns Hare Hill Hall and how their gardens compare with those of the National Trust?
The white rhododendrons are spectacular, as are the bee hotels. Is it your idea to have the tubes inside what looks like a recycled birdhouse?
This is a good link to see which types nest in Bee Hotels .
https://www.opalexplorenature.org/Bee...
BSG - Bee hotels
If you choose to make some bee hotels, we would love to know how you get on if you have the time. I have very bad hands so I bought mine instead of making them.
I don't know what type of bees come into my bee hotels ; I just know that they do. One is hung onto to a wooden fence and this one above is on logs. As you mention maybe they like the wood.
I looked and found instructions for making these on the internet. Apparently bamboo in small pots with clay to hold the bamboo in place is all that is needed.
Bee hotels are often tubular, as Veronica says. But some bees do not need tubes. Take this case. I was feeling blessed that my fruit trees looked abundant and were obviously well-pollinated. Then I discovered why. One day I was standing near a pile of old pallets at the back of the allotment when I found my legs surrounded by swarming bumble bees.I soon realized that they had constructed a nest in the pallet pile. I ensured that the pallet pile remained undisturbed, but sadly the bees did not nest there the next year.
Different bee species require differing habitats. Bee hotels are good for solitary bees, such as mason bees, but the hotels are not good for honey bees, and bumble bees would not fit into the tubes that the mason bees could dwell in. Mason bees are named for their habit of nesting in masonry or places where there are natural dry spaces.
Above I have posted one of my little bee hotels.
It is tiny compared to the Hare Hill ones. Mine stands on some old logs. As you see the tubes are those hollow cane ones. They can easily be made.
I hope this helps. Every garden should have a bee hotel.
Bee hotels are a big thing here just now. I have two tiny ones in my gardens. They are supposed to be useful for increasing the declining bee population. Lots of people are having them in their gardens.
They need to be tubular and work best when placed near bright flowers. Mine seem to be made with pieces of hollow cane. I shall post a picture of one of mine so you can see. They can be made quite easily and I have far more bees in my garden now.
A photo will be above in the next few minutes .
Excellent photos. I am curious about bee hotels. Is there a formula for making them. Bee population reduction is a serious problem, so I am confused if there is something being done why it is not being emphasized in the media so as to encourage greater participation.