Gardenista Gift Guide: For the Beekeeper - Gardenista
A gift from a beekeeper might well be honey. Beekeepers are practical people who would never say no to more equipment, no matter how heavy and utilitarian. A compact 4-by-7-inch European Stainless Steel Beekeeping Smoker; $38. One way to make a beekeeper happy is to encourage more bees into everybody’s garden. For US gardeners, Pollinator Mix wildflower seeds formulated for your geographic region—Northeast, Eastern, Midwest, or Southeast—are from $4.15 to $5 per ounce, depending on the mix, from Harris Seeds. Photograph (R) via Kaufmann Mercantile. Handmade English straw Bee Skeps, traditional hives which are useful for catching a swarm. They look lovely in a cottage garden, especially if you have a bee bole (a specially built wall recess) to protect them from the elements. “You cannot have enough hive tools,” says a beekeeping neighbor and she is very keen on this... ...the “American hive tool,” (L) which is chrome-plated and made from hardened and tempered steel. In the UK the American Hive Tool is £14.60 from Thorne. When spinning honey, things tend to get a bit sticky. Protect yourself with a Bib Apron (R) of drill cotton, £36 from Old Town, makers of traditional work wear. Beeswax Candles that really smell wonderfully of honey, lit or unlit. The Urban Beekeeper by the bee master of Fortnum and Mason—and Tate Gallery, Harvey Nichols—etc. : To make sure we’ve got everyone on your list covered, see our other latest gift guides, including Gifts for the House Plant Horticulturalist and Gifts for the Aspiring Ornithologist.