About
All about Rob & the bees
Rob
Back in the day, I was a lawyer specialising in Medical Crime, but believing there must be more to life than jargon and court rooms, I swapped sharp suits for secateurs and went off to study garden design, at Pershore College of Horticulture.
That was back in 1991 and I haven’t looked back. Indeed The Garden Design Company Ltd, which I set up shortly afterwards, has recently celebrated her 21st birthday and my time is now mainly spent building inspirational gardens for clients across southern England.
Flowers of course form a crucial part of my day job, and having developed an interest in wild flower meadows I came across more and more clients who either had started to keep bees or were at the very least interested in them, aware that the Honey bee was under threat. So I signed up to an evening course over the winter of 2018.
Bees
In the early summer of 2018, two swarms of bees arrived c/o my bee mentor Robert (confusing I know). The first arrived and were housed in a meadow that I was establishing at the far end of my garden.
Six days later, and without warning for Bees don’t make appointments, another swarm arrived and took up residence in the deluxe WBC Hive that I had built in the Spring. Painted in bee friendly Farrow and Ball paint (left over from a clients project) they really were in the lap of luxury.
Both colonies thrived in year one, loving the meadow and other bee friendly plantings, not to mention the attention of over 300 people who came to my garden open day in June. Working seven days a week, 14-16 hours a day, small wonder we were able to harvest 40lb of honey in the Autumn and put in place plans for hive Nos 3 for 2019.
All about Rob & the bees
Rob
Back in the day, I was a lawyer specialising in Medical Crime, but believing there must be more to life than jargon and court rooms, I swapped sharp suits for secateurs and went off to study garden design, at Pershore College of Horticulture.
That was back in 1991 and I haven’t looked back. Indeed The Garden Design Company Ltd, which I set up shortly afterwards, has recently celebrated her 21st birthday and my time is now mainly spent building inspirational gardens for clients across southern England.
Flowers of course form a crucial part of my day job, and having developed an interest in wild flower meadows I came across more and more clients who either had started to keep bees or were at the very least interested in them, aware that the Honey bee was under threat. So I signed up to an evening course over the winter of 2018.
Bees
In the early summer of 2018, two swarms of bees arrived c/o my bee mentor Robert (confusing I know). The first arrived and were housed in a meadow that I was establishing at the far end of my garden.
Six days later, and without warning for Bees don’t make appointments, another swarm arrived and took up residence in the deluxe WBC Hive that I had built in the Spring. Painted in bee friendly Farrow and Ball paint (left over from a clients project) they really were in the lap of luxury.
Both colonies thrived in year one, loving the meadow and other bee friendly plantings, not to mention the attention of over 300 people who came to my garden open day in June. Working seven days a week, 14-16 hours a day, small wonder we were able to harvest 40lb of honey in the Autumn and put in place plans for hive Nos 3 for 2019.
The Blog
My evening course confirmed my growing realisation that honey bees formed a crucial part of the worlds crop production for they pollinate at least 10-15% of human food crops and a similar amount of animal feedstuffs, as well as producing the more obvious honey and bees wax, the latter which is now used as a sustainable and reusable substitute for Plastic Cling film!
Yet Bees were facing multiple threats from pests and diseases with entire and viable colonies being abandoned for no apparent reason (Colony Collapse Disorder). To combat such threats I have taken some simple steps including; ensuring my garden design business actively promotes flowers and planting schemes that support and encourage pollinators, avoiding the use of Neonicotinoids and Glyphosate based Roundup wherever possible (faced with ever increasing evidence of the toxicity of such chemicals to bees), and crucially, embracing the idea of keeping bees myself and spreading the word – hence this Blog.
I hope you enjoy reading about my first year and following on my journey for my girls have much to share.
GDC
I created the Garden Design Company Ltd in 1996 as an independent design and build service. This one stop shop concept, offers clients a seamless process, avoiding potential issues associated with sourcing a separate designer and contractor to build the garden.
I am intensely proud of the ethos behind GDC and the bespoke service offered to every customer. Each and every garden we create is unique, meticulously planned and constructed with maximum attention to detail. We operate with a minimum of fuss and disruption both to our clients and their neighbours.
The belief that creating relationships alongside creating a garden is at the very heart of what I believe in and with several colonies of honey bees, I now have more friendships than ever to nurture and share.
My garden at Rivermead
This is where the bees live complete with wildflower meadows
Orchard House
This stunning garden was featured in Homes & Gardens
Fingust
This is my oldest creation and was also featured in Homes & Gardens
My garden at Rivermead
This is where the bees live complete with wildflower meadows
Orchard House
This stunning garden was featured in Homes & Gardens
Fingust
This is my oldest creation and was also featured in Homes & Gardens