WHILE OTHER GARDENERS reaped the benefits of their labor these past months with bowls of juicy apples, clusters of succulent grapes and vases of bountiful flowers, Bruce Bugler was busy harvesting his backyard crop — sweet, sticky honey — made by the busy bees of his four hives.
Eager to share his bounty and divulge insider information about hive-tending, Bugler, a member of Marin Beekeepers Club (marinbees.org) recently invited neighbors to a tour along with a tasting of honey from his two other hive sites — one in Clear Lake and another in Lucas Valley.
Brugler's "Greenbrae" honey comes from bees that sup on wildflowers, citrus blossoms, lavender and rosemary blooms and the other plants that thrive in and around his hillside home.
He makes sure not to rob the hive of the honey necessary for it to survive. And the honey, which is considered therapeutic and an antiseptic, never goes bad once it's bottled.
His Clear Lake honey, collected from hives on family property, is light in color and taste. The Greenbrae honey is slightly richer and the Lucas Valley hives produce the deepest colored and most complex taste of the three.
Brugler's hives were set up by Marin Bee Co., soon to be called Planet Bee Foundation, owned by Bill Tomaszerski, a former Kentfield resident now living in San Francisco.
"Bruce has jumped in with both feet and having a lot of fun with it," Tomaszerski says.
But then, that's what Tomaszerski aims for in his bee business.
From presentations and workshops for children and adults to establishing beehives in schools and at nonprofit groups for free, Tomaszerski wants to "change the world one bee at a time," as his mission statement insists. He has hives established at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael and at Homeward Bound in Novato. The hives he established at the Kent School, before the program was abandoned, brought in $2,000 that was invested back into the school garden, he says.
He also has established hives for corporate team-building at Genentech, Google and elsewhere. Wine.com has rooftop hives at its San Francisco headquarters and Berkeley warehouse.
For those who don't want beehives in their backyard, he'll help them sponsor one (1/8 of a hive costs $60) for a school or nonprofit group.
If you do want to venture into backyard beekeeping, Tomaszerski has some tips:
"You don't need much space to keep bees; only the footprint of a hive — about 18 inches by 24 inches located out of the way of foot traffic"
"Don't be afraid of honey bees. They're gentle vegans that are just interested in nectar and pollen and going from flower to flower. They only sting as a last resort and then they die."
Honeybees are not like yellow jackets, he insists. "Yellow jackets are carnivores. They're aggressive and the ones who will come after your food when you're having lunch or at a barbecue. They can sting repeatedly without dying."
"YouTube has great videos on beekeeping and get a copy of 'Beekeeping for Dummies,'" he says. "It's the book I started with years ago."
Tomaszerski invites anyone interested in learning more about beekeeping to come to Fall Harvest Day at Slide Ranch, where he will offer bee workshops for children and adults.
The public is also welcome to attend his free basic beekeeping talks at 9 a.m. the first Saturday of each month at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael. Call his company to confirm.
For more information, call 235-6424 or go to marinbeecompany.com
Feed the bees
The Home Garden Seed Association is a fan of bees, too, and advises gardeners who want to attract bees to position clusters of plants at least 4 feet in diameter rather than scattered plantings.
It offers these other tips, as well.
Plant flowers of different shapes to attract different types of pollinators.
Grow a succession of flowering plants that lasts from spring through fall to support a range of bee species.
These flowering plants can be grown from seed:
Early bloomers: California poppy, clover, dianthus, larkspur, parsley, sweet alyssum and viola
Midseason: Bachelor's button, basil, cilantro, coneflower, cosmos, dill, feverfew, foxglove, lavender, monarda, squash, pumpkin and thyme
Late bloomers: Amaranth, dahlia, marigold, salvia, scabiosa, sunflower and zinnia
For more information, go to ezfromseed.org.
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.net. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield, CA 94914, or at firstname.lastname@example.org.