Growing the good life

With veg beds full of seedlings and young plants, plus lots of crops ready to harvest, Sara Ward is as busy as her bees this month

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A gentle stroll round the garden in June allows you to marvel at our precious pollinators as they meticulously work each flower, gathering sweet nectar for energy and colourful, protein-packed pollen. While the bees take all they need, nature rewards us with very real fruit from their labours through the magic of pollination. As the bees bumble around inside all the blossoms, we can be confident that developing berries won't be far behind.

There's a saying among beekeepers: 'a swarm in May is worth a load of hay, a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon, but a swarm in July is not worth a fly'. So I'll be checking my bees regularly to try and prevent them swarming and will be on hand for the local community, as ever, if anyone finds a new family of honeybees taking up residence in their garden. As we celebrate the longest day of the year, nature makes the most of the sunshine and we keep up by gathering in crops as they ripen.

Getting a good start