The big bee move takes place!

The Beehaus' new home

So, as dusk fell on Saturday my husband and I went over in his white van to where the bees have resided for the past two years in Leamington Spa. Although this has been a brilliant spot for them and the Beehaus landlords, Sarah and Ian, have been great despite the lack of 'Learnmonth Lawns Honey', the plan was always to have them in my garden when we moved house.

So, this was it. We were doing it stealthfully in the dark because that is what is recommended by beekeepers more in the know than I am. The idea is that at night the bees are all in the hive so you won't leave any homeless. Strictly, you should move them further than 3 miles away to prevent them from flying back to their old spot but I think the 0.4 miles will be ok as the bees aren't flying much at the moment anyway being winter.

A parcel taped Beehaus in the back of the van

Although the Beehaus looks pretty it's not an easy object to carry. However, we managed not to drop it (god, imagine the nightmare) and get it into the van although we did knock it a bit on the way. I was going to sit in the back with them but Jon talked me out of it painting a picture of me with 20,000 stinging bees who had somehow escaped.

We drove home as slowly and bump free as we could. Getting the bees through the house was an interesting and somewhat surreal experience. But we got them out the back and along the garden to just in front of the shed. I took the parcel tape off and crouched down to listen. I heard a muffled buzzing so hopefully some bees survived the ordeal.

The Beehaus in its new position at the end of my garden

The next morning I could see the Beehaus from my office window - a sight I'm going to very much enjoy. At lunchtime I padded out to them with fondant in hand - an attempt to sweeten them up after evicting them from their previous neighbourhood. I wasn't sure what I would encounter. But as I lifted the previous block of fondant I had put on at christmas, quite a few bees came flying out. Hooray! I quickly placed the new fondant over the hole in the coverboard and closed the hive up.

Some bees were flying about but hopefully they found their way back to the entrance. Great! So now my next job is to plant some bee friendly flowers in the garden. Any suggestions greatly received.

A view of the Beehaus through the gaps between the kitchen blind

One member of the household who is a bit grumpy about the new residents. I saw her sniff out the entrance of the hive and then bolt across the garden and through the cat flap. She must have met a bee :)