Honey makes the world go round!

The time of year has arrived for bee swarms here in Brittany - last week I was out gardening for one of my clients - when I arrived heard the light hum of bees, only to discover the rather large beginnings of a nest behind one of the bedroom shutters - this was a close up and the next photo was the view from the bedroom!  It's true to say I'd never seen so many bees together in my life!

Wasting no time, I called up a friend over here who is not only a fellow gardener but who has also taken up bee-keeping quite seriously - you should check out his blog.  We agreed it was best to get the swarm removed as soon as possible before it got too big and established... so these photos show you the wonderful entertainment we had last Thursday evening... a first for me and quite amazing!

As the swarm had chosen a first floor window, the first part of this rather delicate operation was to open the bedroom shutter from the inside so that we could get to work on the outside of the house without half the bees coming indoors - only 2 made it into the house which was a relief and that bit done, the work started from the outside.

We put up a ladder to the side of the swarm and as you'll see in the photo below, Richard went up (suited-up of course) to inspect the job that lay ahead! 

It was certainly a decent size of what he felt were relatively docile bees - I was keeping my distance at this point!

He then moved the ladder over and brought up what is called a nuc box - which acts as an interim home before they're transferred to a proper hive.  He tied this on to the balcony railings to hold this in place.

 

 The next job was lighting some dry grass inside the smoker - from the photo this looks highly dangerous but it was all under control!

 

The smoker was then used by puffing smoke around the area where the bees were which helps when moving them and keeps them a bit calmer - apparently. Once some of the bees had moved, we got a glimpse of the comb that they'd made - this is essentially wax cells in which they lay their eggs - in thin circular sheets.

It was a pretty delicate operation for Richard to remove these wax sheets and place them in the frames that he had prepared - initially held in place with rubber bands... fascinating!  Not long after this he spotted the queen - not easy with all the thousands of bees :-) - she was caught in a small device and placed in the box and she is what then attracts the rest of the swarm into the nuc box.

Bit by bit as you'll see in this next picture the original "rugby ball" shape of the swarm was lessening and as the remaining wax was moved into the nuc, the bees were all walking down the window - literally - following each other in search of the Queen... this transformation was incredible!

The swarm continued to move down the window - the last few needing a bit more help from the smoker.

You can see from this photo the last of the bees going into the bottom entrance of the nuc box...

And this really was the last of them... and finally we were able to pack up and they went off to their new home... I love a happy ending!

 Having so enjoyed Sarah Raven's TV series on the BBC a couple of months back this made me realise even more, how incredibly important bees are to everyone, and really without them, there would be a very small selection of foods that we would be able to choose from in the supermarkets... even chocolate & coffee depend on pollination!  So next time you're thinking of what to plant in your gardens... think of the bees and pollinating insects... if you need any hints and tips on suitable plants, let me know and I'll happily tackle this topic in a future posting! Bon weekend and hope you enjoyed something a bit different.

Our Brittany garden springs into life....

Despite all the rain and stormy days, we've had the odd moment of sunshine... I took this a few days ago in between showers and since then it's done nothing but rain! 

The Geranium phaeums are some of my favorite flowers at this time of year... I couldn't recommend them enough and are easy to grow.

 This is the view from our garden looking through the woodland... it's full of bird life at this time of year.  We're very fortunate to have such an amazing variety of birds but here - helped with lots of trees and the small river that runs at the bottom too... it's a lot of hard work to keep looking nice but well worth all the effort!  On my way out with the dog this week, I  was surprised by the sight of a little Tree Creeper - about 3 meters from where I was stood flitting up and down one of the Oak Trees - such a tiny but beautiful bird that you don't often see close up like that. 

There are so many beautiful colours in the garden at this time of year - it was hard to choose which photos to add to today's account of our garden... so I just added most of them to share with you as it's been a while since my last posting!

This is one of the many Oriental Poppies in the garden and not far off bursting into life... hopefully the stormy weather will be over before it's open!

 























  This is a fabulous tree, even for a small garden - Malus Everest is a crab apple with beautiful blossom at this time of year and then small brightly coloured fruits which last all the way through to January/February and the birds love them!

This is a plant that I bought recently - infact it's a third of it... when I got back I split it up as it was very pot bound and all three plants are doing well! I must admit I often look for plants that need dividing up - I bring them on in pots and then plant them out.

 Lily of the Valley has special significance in France - On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free. It is also traditional for the lady receiving the sprig of lily of the valley to give a kiss in return. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.

I had to share a picture of this - the latest site for a breeding pair of Blue Tits - they have their nest in the top part of the pump - luckily it's not in use!

Last but not least a picture of the Camelias and other spring flowering plants under our Walnut Tree.... do hope we get some more sunny spells this week!  This year the weather has gone from one extreme to another.  Our Swallows haven't even started nesting yet - this time last year we had swallow babies by now... all said and done though I did hear the Cuckoo for the 3rd day in a row so perhaps warmer weather really is on it's way!

A Pocket Guide to Plants and Gardening...

From time to time I've reviewed books on my blog and I just wanted to bring this one to your attention.

So often with gardening books they tend to replicate so much of what has been done before but even with my library of gardening and design books there is information in this little book which I found intensely interesting and enjoyable.

Elizabeth McCorquodale has managed to get an incredible amount of information into the 125 pages of this little book which is beautifully illustrated as well as being informative and would make a lovely gift for anyone with an interest in the garden and all that goes on in it or even a complete beginner!

If you order The Pocket Guide to Plants and Gardening having seen this posting you will be able to buy them at £5.97 each (a 40% reduction on the RRP of £9.95). See details below!

The book is essentially split into 4 main sections - The Life of Plants, Gardening, Garden Wildlife and The History of Gardening and covers a wealth of subjects such as pollination, germination, taking cuttings, worm farming, plant nutrition, wildlife-friendly pest control, plants for wildlife, plant names and a time line of garden history and I could go on....

One of my favourite subjects in the gardening is on the importance of recycling in the garden and what better way to do this, but by composting?  I loved the pages on this - simply described for anyone to put into practice and easy to understand.  So often such subjects can be perceived as too complicated and when it boils down to it are in fact very easy... so thought I'd include this lovely illustration on the subject to whet your appetite!

Among my other favourite sections of the book was about how to understand the history of a tree - I found this fascinating.

A little book I could definitely recommend to you and if you order this book, please contact Jessica Atkins at Black Dog Publishing via email or by phoning +44 (0)207 713 5097 & don't forget to mention jardinmiranda for your 40% discount!

Also available with the 40% discount:

- Kids in the Wild Garden
- Kids in the Garden
- Growing Stuff: An Alternative Guide

Just hope you enjoy this one as much as I did...

A gift from a friend....

As a gardener, receiving a plant from a friend is always a wonderful present and even more precious if it's been home grown. 

Walking around the garden after all the extremely cold weather we've had recently in northern Brittany, there is still relatively little colour in the garden apart from this rather stunning Iris reticulata - which I received last year as a gift from a gardener/designer friend in London.  It was beautifully potted up with its own wooden label (a recycled lolly pop stick- an idea worth considering)  which had been marked in pencil and which I planted out in the autumn.  It now occupies a sheltered spot near to the house and has been in bloom now for a good couple of weeks despite the freezing temperatures.  Its vivid colouring certainly brightens up the garden and definitely a spring bulb worth considering.

It's lovely to have reminders as you walk around the garden of friends and family (past and present). When we moved to France some 8 or so years ago I know the plants in my garden in Bristol, UK that I was most keen to bring with us were those that I had received as gifts - a rose ( Jacques Cartier) that I'd received as a leaving present from another gardening friend is now flourishing in our garden here and is a lovely reminder of our visits together to garden centres enjoying the odd bacon sandwich with a cup of coffee as we did.... something unfortunately that we don't get in France! 

There are also many reminders of the many visits to Cornish gardens & nurseries with my Mum and Dad over the last number of years during my visits to see them when they lived down there. 

Another favourite of mine is the Rose Sourire D'Orchidee which a client gave me - one they'd grown themselves from a cutting.

Why not consider something which is both easy and  fun, and that is to save both cuttings and seeds to give as gifts - it doesn't take a great deal of effort but there is a lot of joy in being able to share something that you've either grown yourself or that comes from your garden. 

Knowing as you wander around the garden as I love to do when time allows (normally accompanied by a mug of coffee) that different plants were given to you from different friends and family is very special.

Belated Happy Valentines....

This just seemed to be the perfect Valentine posting.... being that this day was supposed to mark the point in the year when birds paired up with their mates, I thought this was perfect!  We've only ever had, in the 8 yrs we've been here - 1 lonely Goldfinch ever visit our bird table and it was great excitement when yesterday I spotted 2 on the niger seed feeder... and they're there again today so maybe here to stay... I do hope so!   

 So if like me you like Goldfinches, do put out a feeder filled with Niger Seed and be patient... it's all worth it :-)

Brittany winter garden visitors...

One bonus of the cold weather is the variety of birds it brings into the garden... best not mention the quantity of bird food I'm getting through at the moment!!  This little ceramic feeder was a Christmas pressie and the birds love it... they can get right inside it and just enjoy a good feed of the mixed seed/nuts that I've got inside... a bit like a bird version of Santa's Grotto!!

After everyone's comments about the feeder, I thought I'd just post some info on where you can buy one... and they do send overseas as well - http://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/ceramic-wild-bird-seed-feeder-p-21463.html - hope this helps!

Having seen all the advertising for the Garden Birdwatch which took place in the UK recently it's been interesting to see a few changes in the numbers and species of the birds visiting our garden this winter too.  We have many Blue and Great Tits, Robins, more Chaffinches than normal, Greenfinches (not so many), Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Sparrows, Wrens and Nuthatches too but I've not seen many Song Thrushes, Redwings or Fieldfayres either, but maybe they are yet to arrive.  I have also spotted the odd Gold Crested Wren as well which is v. exciting.

We've never had many Goldfinches visiting our garden which is a shame - we had one it's own that came last year and despite putting out a niger seed feeder we still have only one... they're quite a splash of bright colour in the garden at this time of year!  Maybe it really is Billy no mates and the same lonely bird that keeps returning?!

The weather in Brittany this last week or so has been pretty cold - I think it was about minus 7 degrees C last night so we've done our best to provide the birds with a number of feeding stations this year - their favorite spot though, is in the trees where there's a bit of shelter and protection from the Sparrow Hawks around here.

One thing not to forget about is providing enough water for the birds which they desperately need when the weather is this cold.  Our water feeder has been frozen solid every day!

This rather handsome male Great Spotted Woodpecker (they have red on their head as well as their tummy!) spent quite a bit of time on the fat balls today.  It's a good time of year for spotting they around here with the lack of foliage on the trees.

Do hope you're keeping warm and that it's not as cold where you are... 

Do consider our little feathered friends in the cold weather as they really do depend on kind people putting out what they need in winter just to survive.  If you live in the UK I could highly recommend BRINVALE BIRD FOODS - I ordered some fat squares when I was last over and their service was EXCELLENT - so helpful and very reasonable and if you order over 10kg delivery is free - my order arrived in 24hrs!  If you decide to give them a go do let them know that you got the contact from this blog (I don't get any payment for this but it's just good for them to know!)... many thanks