Tag Archives: Mason

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Beautiful Beehives Of The Day

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The beehives on the roof of Fortnum & Mason in London may be the most beautiful in the world. I took the picture above when I visited them in London last year.

Before the hives were installed on F&M’s roof, they were showcased in a Chris Beardshaw-designed garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Fortnum 4 Fortnum bees 3 Fortnum-2 (1) Fortnum-2

Whether you prefer formal or rustic, there are endless possibilities for beautiful beekeeping!

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Those Obscure Wellies of Desire

It’s definitely wellie season in Ohio. Today was warm and rainy. It will rain or snow from now until June.

I have a perfectly good pair of black Hunter Wellies. The problem is I’m lusting after a pair that are not to be found on the internet or elsewhere.

They are Fortnum & Mason exclusives. Aren’t they fabu?

fmhunter1

I can just see myself prancing about in these eau de nil beauties!

My flowers will bloom more beautifully, my bees will buzz more happily and my honey cupcakes will turn out perfectly every time. If only I had those wellies!!

If anyone knows where I can locate a pair, size 37, I will be forever in your debt.  🙂  Until then, I will dream about those obscure objects of desire. Thank you, Luis Bunuel.  🙂

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Have Any Questions About Fortnum’s Bees?

I’m taking a tour of the amazing beehives on the roof of Fortnum & Mason on Friday, June 22.  I’m so excited!

Fortnum’s is also giving me the opportunity to submit questions about their bees in advance of my tour.  I’m going to post the answers along with lots of pictures of the hives themselves.

I want to make sure that I ask all of the questions that you, my gentle readers, would like answered.

So… I’m humbly requesting that you send me your burning questions via comments on this post or via my email, ddelong@ddlconsulting.com.

Remember, there are no silly questions!  There’s only me being too obtuse to think of all the cool things that could be asked!!

Looking forward to receiving all your clever and brilliant inquiries!!

Deb

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The Fortnumization Project – Painting the Hive

Things were going well!

I found the perfect shade of  eau de nil to paint the hive wooden ware. It is virtually indistinguishable from the color of the Fortnum & Mason Hives. It is a pale aquamarine, almost white.

Eau de Nil Painted Hive Stand

But after a few hours of painting, things weren’t progressing well.

I’m not talking about the fact that painting is really boring. Now I know where the expression “like watching paint dry” comes from.

I’m not even talking about the fact that both my cat and my dog have eau de nil-colored splotches on them. I’m sure those will come off eventually.

It’s the fact that after three coats of paint, I could still see wood grain. Very un-Fortnumy.

Visible Wood Grain

So I did a little online research on painting beehives.  And guess what? It’s best to slap a couple of coats of primer on first!!

Not only will the paint look better, but it will protect your wooden ware better too!

No wonder my other hive is not looking  so beautiful these days…

So, if you need me, I’ll be painting…

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The Fortnumization Project

As some of you may know, I’m a big fan of the bee hives on the roof of Fortnum & Mason in London. I mean, what’s not to like??

One of Fortnum's Beautiful Hives

Well, today one of my fans (Yes! I have fans!!), Ryan Ferreri, novice beekeeper and wood craftsman extraordinaire, has offered to help me Fortnumize my new hive! I’m so excited!!

We thought it would be fun to document the progress of our project on this blog. So stay tuned for the Fortnumization Project! My new hive wooden ware is supposed to arrive tomorrow…