Nature-lovers were given a guided tour of the hives that have been at Lambeth Palace for 900 years as part of the Chelsea Fringe at Nine Elms on the South Bank.
Published on
June 6, 2016
A small group of nature-lovers were given a tour of beehives in the grounds of Lambeth Palace as part of the Chelsea Fringe Festival at Nine Elms on the South Bank.
The tour of the 11-acre site included an inspection of the nine hives tucked away at the far end of the garden beyond Morton’s Tower, which bees have called home since the 12th Century.
During the tour, beekeeper Dale Gibson gave ticketed visitors the chance to get up close to the swarm and to inspect the brood box frames where the bees nest.
Visitors were also given the chance to wander around London’s oldest continually cultivated gardens during their visit on Friday 3 June.
The tour was one of the highlights of the Chelsea Fringe at Nine Elms this year with places rapidly snapped up.
Now in the thick of its fifth year, The Chelsea Fringe, which coincides with the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show, is designed to shine a light on community gardening projects across London and around the globe.
In Nine Elms on the South Bank the festival has gone from strength to strength and this year venues and community groups across the area have been joining in.
Nine Elms and Vauxhall have a deep-rooted horticultural heritage and have been putting on a plethora of event and attractions. The area is undergoing a major regeneration programme and is home to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, the Garden Museum, Vauxhall City Farm and New Covent Garden Market.
This week, highlights of the festival, which runs until Sunday 12 June, include:
•Edible Avenue SW – An ongoing project that will transform Thessaly Avenue into a community garden. At the start of the festival on Saturday 21 May, children from St George’s Primary School in Corunna Road, Battersea potted out seeds and seedlings and they have been growing them at home. They are set to bring them back on Saturday and Sunday this week for the next phase of the project, when they will be transferred into larger planters.
•Green Week Talks – Last week the RCA Green Week talks with its flagship StudioRCA in Riverlight Quays was packed to the rafters.
•Barbara Hepworth Summer Garden Party – On Friday local residents are invited to join members of the Vauxhall One team for their annual garden party, which is being held in the pop-up sculpture garden next to the Beaconsfield Gallery, in Newport Street between 12pm and 3pm. Visitors will be treated to Pimm’s in the garden by Rosie Irving and Antonia Young, inspired by sculptor Barbara Hepworth’s work.
•Roof Garden fun day – Held in the roof garden created by members of the community living on the Doddington and Rollo Estate, the annual party will feature strawberry picking, story telling, a slug and snail hunt, music and food between 11am and 4pm.
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