It is that time of year again and what a fabulous time of year it is, with flowers blooming and the hives waking up from winter. It reminded me that I’ve often thought of good gifts that you could buy a beekeeper. Having looked around, there seems so many different ideas that I felt I had to write a small blog about it. All beekeepers need new books, so I have picked four books (two of which I believe would be great for the aspiring beekeeper).
Bee Books
The Haynes Bee Manual
by Claire Waring
I am currently reading this book and I have to say it is a fantastic introduction to beekeeping with some great pictures and is very easy to follow. I only wish this was around when I was learning as it is a far better introduction to new beekeepers than most.
You can buy it here.
Beekeeping: A Novice’s Guide
by David Whootton
A book that I have just received but I can already tell that it will be a good one. With David being a professional photograph, the accompanying photos on this 2nd edition (only just released on the 5th November) are excellent and a great visual aspect to the book. With a quick glance through there are excellent sections as well for the beginner with step by step instructions on building hives not to mention more detailed sections. A real close call between this and the Haynes Manual but there was an excellent review from the BBKA on this book which you may want to read as well.
You can buy it here.
A World Without Bees
by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum
This was actually the first book I read and you can read the beekeeping book review if you would like. An excellent overview of the problems the bees are facing, who is to blame and a rather blunt outlook on what could happen if we don’t do anything about it.
Youcan buy it here.
Hannah and the Honey Bee
by Alison Simms and Terry Gable
A lovely book aimed at younger children and introducing them to beekeeping. It is all about Hannah and her Grandad, a beekeeper set in Rural England. A lovely fantasy story and perfect for children.
You can buy it here.
Bee Jewelery
This isn’t really my fortay I am afraid and so I have taken a few recommendations! Here you are:
There are several sites that you can look on for jewelery for beekeepers. One such site is Bee Gifts, which is a subsidury of the BJ Sherriff team. They have plenty of options for Beekeeping Jewelery which you can find by clicking on that link. I particullarly like the cufflinks!
Bee Lotions and Potions
Occasionally I do win some brownie points back home and buying some Burt’s Bees stuff always goes down well. I have to say I like this company, their branding, their ethos and their customer service. I cannot really fault them to be honest. If you are interested and want to know more here is their website and here is their Facebook page. Before you rush out and buy some of their products have a little look below to see a discount voucher with the “Adopt a Hive” scheme.
Adopt a Hive
This is set up run by the BBKA here in the UK that allows people who don’t actually want to keep bees themselves help the cause. For £30 you get to “Adopt A Beehive” and is a great scheme. Each year you get the following for your hard earned cash:
- A choice of a jar of honey or a jar of honey mustard
- A pocket guide to the honey bee
- Burts Bees lip balm and a 20% gift voucher
- Hive Talk – 3 Seasonal newsletters with updates from the Hive
- Set of beautiful bee cards
- A mix of wildflower seeds for you to sow in your garden
If you want to know a little bit more and are interested in purchasing one of these you can here. They also have a Facebook Page set up especially for it here
Beekeeping Courses
Find a great couple of resources here with BeeCraft magazine which has an interactive map with courses all around the UK varying from Taster courses to those run by local associations.
Other Beekeeping Gifts:
There are hundreds of beekeeping gifts and, to be honest, I have only scratched the surface but you can find an awful lot of beekeeping gifts at www.beegifts.com which I mentioned earlier with Bee Jewelery but Anji and her team do seem to have most things covered.
There is also another quite useful site should you want to look at T-shirts or badges for loved ones.
And Finally!!
At the end of the day you will always need to wrap up your present and so why not get some great bee wrapping paper. This is a recent release with a new cover.
Buy the wrapping paper here.