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British National Beehives


Based in a small workshop in Tideswell in the Peak District we make Highest Quality British National Beehives out of 1st grade American Western Red Cedar or High Quality Red Deal according to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) Modified National Hive Plans. Everything we sell we make here in the Peak District. We also stock other items of Beekeeping Supplies including Frames, Foundation Wax and Hive Tools. The driving forces behind peak-hives.co.uk are sustainability and quality workmanship. Sustainability because, well it matters quite a bit we think and quality workmanship because customer satisfaction is paramount.



Cedar Scarcity.

Unfortunately building materials are extremely scarce at the moment and pricing is highly volatile. This goes for Western Red Cedar too. I have decided that until the market settles down I will not be making up any Cedar hives or hive parts. We'll be back in operation once the supply issues have been resolved. Many thanks.

webcam...

Want to see your National Hive being made? Here's what's going on in the workshop right now. The image is updated every 10 minutes during working hours. Click to see full size...

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blog...

The rest of the centre column is an ongoing blog of what's new at peak-hives.co.uk and other items of interest...veg garden...renewables etc, but please don't let reading about the allotment distract you from placing your order...:-)




An interesting week…

On Monday we had a visit from Neville from Sheffield University who collected the Oak Observation Hive in the picture. It’s to be used in the Department of Computing! Analysis of bee behaviour and how it can be translated into algorithms. Tuesday saw the collection of the other Observation Hive pictured. It is to be used to demonstrate bees in schools. The schools one is a self contained unit just for demonstration and the other has an entrance which will go to the outside of the laboratory so it will be a living and working colony.

Observation Hives
Observation Hives

Also new is that we have propagated Buddleia globosa and are adding these to the pollinator plants for sale.

Buddleia Globosa

And finally we’re now official suppliers to Chatsworth House and I went today to set up two new National Hives in the kitchen gardens to the rear of Chatsworth House. Apparently the Duke insisted on purchasing our hives.

I’m also very busy as per usual at this time of year making in our workshop our National Hives from First Grade Western Red Cedar and thank all our customers for their patience.

Photo Competition 2019

To mark the launch of our Pollinator Plants we’re once again holding a photography competition.  This time the only requirement is that your shot features pollinators or something related to pollinators.  So bees, butterflies, moths all count as would an interesting hive design or location or a bank of lavender swamped with bumble bees…anything pollinator related.

First prize is one of our Cedar 6 Frame Nucleus Hives with a Varroa Floor.

Copyright of the photograph will reside with the photographer with license to use being given to Peak Hives.

Cheers and please email all entries to nicholas@localhost marking the email Photo Comp 2019.

Closing Date will be 1st of November.

Happy Snapping and have a great beekeeping season.

Nick

Stachys byzantina and Verbena bonariensis

We’re very busy now and thank our customers for their patience in waiting for their Peak Hives National Hive products to arrive. We are also busy in the propagation of pollinator plants and have just added Stachys byzantina (Common name ‘Lambs Ears’) and Verbena bonariensis in the pollinator plants section of the website in the right hand column. Both are super pollinator plants and are now available in 1 and 2 litre pots.

Verbena bonariensis
Verbena bonariensis
Stachys byzantina
Stachys byzantina

Queen Castle

A long standing customer wanted me to undertake this ‘special’ and make him a Queen Castle. It’s basically 4 x 2 frame Nucleus Colonies under a single roof. Each side of the Queen Castle has a unique entrance for one of the colonies. There is enough room in each compartment for two Hoffman Brood Frames and a Dummy Board for manipulation. Hope it works well for H. our loyal customer.

Queen Castle

Queen Castle

Inside Queen Castle

Inside Queen Castle

Queen Castle Inner

Queen Castle Inner

Here’s also a quick shot of the polytunnel. The Veronica Spicata ‘Heidekind’ is in the foreground and the Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Leadwort) just behind it and the Rudbekia fulgida var. deamii just visible.

Pollinator Plants in Polytunnel

Pollinator Plants in Polytunnel

Meanwhile in the Misting House we have the heated misting bench full of Pollinator Plants looking to go to their new owners. We’re overwintering some plants that have already been sold and will send out to our clients as soon as the weather picks up in the new year. Can’t wait for Spring 2019.

Bee Plants on Misting Bench

Bee Plants on Misting Bench

Apart from the ‘specials’ and polytunnel business we’re busy as usual making the mainstay of the business which is high quality hand made Cedar National Hives. A note here on quality. We only use first grade Canadian Western Red Cedar and don’t use cheaper lower quality cedar which we are aware is available and have been offered. As a business we have opted to keep our quality of materials and workmanship to a high standard on our National Hives.

Peak Hives Pollinator Plants

Marrying our love of beekeeping all things bees and an equal love of gardening Peak Hives are proud to announce that we will be establishing a new line in Pollinator Plants. As with our hand built Cedar National Hives made in our workshop from start to finish our Pollinator Plants will be propagated and grown on in our own Propagation House and Polytunnel here in Tideswell.

There’s such enjoyment to be had in watching a mass of bumble and honey bees working a plant they love.

Lavender Hidcote

Lavender Hidcote

As a first offering we will be raising both 1 ltr and 2 ltr pots. Orders can be placed from now on for delivery in 2019 and the best plants will be selected as orders come in. These are plants that we have already propagated this Summer/Autumn and will overwinter ready for dispatch in the Spring. It’s early days but we already have over a thousand plants in pots in the polytunnel.

The initial list of plants includes… (flowering season in brackets)

Achillea ‘King Alfred’ (Summer)

Lavender ‘Hidcote’ (Summer)

Lavender ‘Rosea’ (Summer)

Lavender ‘Devon Compact White’ (Summer)

Potentilla ‘Golden Starlit’ (Summer)

Potentilla ‘Scarlet Starlit’ (Summer)

Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountains’ (Spring)

Veronica spicata ‘Heidekind’ (Summer)

Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ (Autumn)

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Autumn)

Sage officinalis ‘Icterina (Gold)’ (Autumn)

Euphorbia ‘Baby Charm’ (Spring)

Helleborus orientalis hybrid ‘Pink Lady’ (Spring)

Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii (Summer)

We’ve also added a couple of Plant Breeders Rights varieties as they are such good plants for bees and pollinators. We won’t be able to propagate these until we establish a relationship with the breeder in question (already in hand).

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ (P) (Spring)

Iberis ‘Masterpiece’ (P) (Spring)

Watch out for Peak Hives Pollinator Plants on offer soon…