Margaret, another great article on our bee friends. Very informative and easy to follow.
We grow lots of bee plants for the bees that come to visit from the cherry orchard at the end of our road. I love watching them on the flowers.

Your articles make me enthusiastic to get started!

Thank you Lynn I do my best to make my articles easy to understand.

June I'll try to keep you hyped up to get bees.

Perfectly done Margaret.

I just wish more people would have a hive or two. It really doesn't take much room to have them. You don't have to have a large yard. And remember that bees aren't "out to sting you", in fact they do their best not to. After you get used to them & they to you then you will find it really isn't even necessary to wear a bee suit or protective clothing the majority of the time. They are as sweet as the honey they produce! Really!

I think more people are getting interested in having bees Ann. And gardeners are getting more interested in providing plants for them even if they don't keep bees.

My husband is now so comfortable around our bees he only wears a suit when he has to go down to the brood nest to inspect it. We both walk around and get up close to the hives even when not checking them. I'm usually in shorts during the summer when I go around them and I have one sister who goes and looks at the hives every time she comes to visit me and she's always in shorts when she comes in the summertime.

Ann is also correct in the amount of space you need to keep bees. If you just have a small property without much space for plants keep in mind the bees will forage beyond your property to your neighbors all around you. Even in a city with no gardening space you can have bees.

Our bees never stung us and we had four children running around. They truly were sweet little creatures that gave us many gallons of honey.

My brother's 5 year old grandaughter goes down to his hive and watches them. He told his grandchildren they could go right up to the hive and as long as they don't bother them the bees won't hurt them. He also told them if the bees thought they were good they wouldn't sting them. I have a young friend who doesn't go near the hives because she's afraid of being stung but she smells good to the bees and they always check her out. I'm teaching her to stay still and not duck or swat at them and they will go away. She's getting better at doing that.

And not to blow on them! Bees are highly offended by human's breath! Isn't that hilarious? Jokes on us!

Oh yes they hate smelly odors so don't go near them if you haven't bathed. Neighbor man found that out the hard way. He claimed he washed but everyone's noses said he didn't do a good job of it and the bees certainly didn't like the smell.

I inherited my first 3 hives all at once. The only tools available to me were a smoker and hive tool. During all the time I spent working and serving those hives, I never wore anything more than the clothes of the day. The only sting I got in that time was because I was mowing the grass around the hives with an old push mower. One of the girls got under the back of my cap and nailed me before I could get the cap off and let her out.