Last spring my husband and I got a serious wake up call.  I have always known that bees are important to a vegetable garden and the past several years I have tried various tricks to attract more bees to my garden, like planting colorful flowers in along with my other plants.  I thought that my efforts were enough, since I saw bees buzzing about quite frequently.  It wasn’t till we paid a visit to a co workers garden, that I finally realized how wrong I was.

My husband’s co worker Craig had recently started beekeeping and he was quite excited to show us his set up.  I was game to check it out, but I had no desire to start beekeeping myself.  I was already working full time as a nurse in surgery, working on my next novel and guest blogging on the IFS website.  I loved working in my garden, but I didn’t see anyway possible I could add beekeeping into the mix.

One look at Craig’s vegetables that were at least four times larger than my own at home had me reconsidering my hasty decision.  There had to be some way I could fit beekeeping into my life…good Lord, look at that garden.  The difference the bees made was absolutely stunning.  We also have a small orchard with six apple trees and two cherry trees and I was dreaming about the bumper crop the bees could ensure from those!

Of course, you can’t just decide to have bees in the middle of spring, you have to bring them in early so I had to wait until late winter of this year to actually place my order.  We ordered our bees and my husband Gary made a project of sanding, priming and painting their hive and the first weekend of May we introduced our bees to their new home.

I don’t have a whole lot to report yet, so far we have mainly been watching them and replacing their sugar water every day.  The bees don’t seem to mind our presence too much.  My son was able to cut the grass right up to the hive without them getting to upset.  I still haven’t fully suited up to deal with them.  I put the long gloves on when I change the feeder, but that is mainly because I’m sticking my hand so close to the hive entrance.  I imagine they will get a lot more territorial once they start producing honey.

Stay tuned for more adventures in beekeeping.  I hope this will be a learning experience for everyone.  Please feel free to comment with any tips, etc.  I’m learning this all as I go along!

Guest Blogger-Jean Marie Stanberry

Author of:  Laying Low In Hollywood, One World United, The Illusion of Order and Blood, Sweat and Fears

jeanstanberry.com  twitter@jeanstanberry