Bee Garden / Apiary

An under-utilised corner of the garden was transformed into a romantic apiary, or bee-yard, featuring brightly painted hives and vintage furniture. The pebbles are a practical surface for working on the hives and retain water for the plants. Plants selected are a mix of bee-friendly perennials, herbs and vegetables, including dahlia, salvia leucanthe, anenome japonica and dianthus, buckwheat, blue kale, rhubarb, and silver lemon thyme. Woolly thyme, festuca coxii and purple alyssum soften the pebbles. Photos by Dee McQuillan