Synopses & Reviews
A hugely inspiring, practical diary of urban beekeepingSteve Benbow's enormous success with urban beekeeping shows how easy it is to keep bees, whether you're in the city or the countryside, a beginner or an experienced beekeeper. You'll never look back once you've tasted your very own sticky, golden honey, or lit a candle made from the beeswax from your beehive. Steve Benbow is a visionary beekeeper whose bees forage in parks, cemeteries, along railway lines, and in window boxes, and because of the diversity of the plants and trees in the city, produce far richer honey and greater yields than they would in rural areas. This fact-filled diary and practical guide to beekeeping follows a year in the life of Steve and his bees and shows how keeping bees and making your own delicious honey is something anyone can do. It is a tempting glimpse into a sunlit lifestyle that starts with the first rays of the morning and ends with the warm glow of sunset, filled with oozing honeycomb, recipes for sensational honey-based dishes, and honey that tastes like sunshine. A hugely affectionate but practical diary of a beekeeper's year and the immense satisfaction of harvesting your own delicious honey. Read it and join the revolution.
Review
"An informative and often touching book... Enthralling." —Spectator
Synopsis
Practical and inspiring, this is an indispensible handbook for city beekeeping.
Ten years ago Steve Benbow decided to keep bees. There was just one problem: he lived in an ex-council tower block with no garden. Undeterred, he built a hive on the flat roof, and there began a lifelong obsession with bees. Beekeeping is a craft which you can perfect over a lifetime. Bees themselves are extraordinary and complex creatures. And, yet, keeping bees and making your own delicious honey is something anyone can do. And you can do it virtually anywhere.
Living in a city it is easy to forget the seasons, to depend on supermarkets, to live off processed food. Keeping bees is the ultimate way to connect back to nature. Building a hive, nurturing bees to thrive, reacting to the elements and, best of all, harvesting your own homemade honey is something to really be proud of. Steve Benbow's honest, warm-hearted diary shows what a satisfying adventure it is to keep bees in the city. Read it and join the revolution.
Synopsis
GB
About the Author
Steve Benbow built his first hive on his rooftop 10 years ago, with no experience. Today, he runs hives across London's greatest landmarks, including both Tate galleries, Fortnum & Mason, and The National Gallery. He supplies honey to Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, the Savoy tearooms, Harrods, and chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing; sells at farmers markets; and teaches beekeeping.