This afternoon I met with the homeowner. She's a very pleasant lady that really just wants to watch the bees work in her yard and make a safe haven for wildlife. She and her husband kept bees for about 10 years, but that was prevarroa mites. She doesn't want to risk the investment only to lose the bees to mites. Because she has an 1/2 acre lot, the city will allow 4 colonies. We are going to start with one. It will face to the south which is facing a neighbor's privacy fence. To the west is another neighbor's privacy fence. The other neighbors don't care about the honey bees. The lots are very narrow and very, very deep. The other homeowners that share the back property line have the same lot configuration.(They are 1/2 acre lots. Very deep!) I can come anytime I want without calling in advance. She is going to move a birdbath to the back for the honey bees to use. The Kansas River is a few blocks away, but this will make hauling water easier for the bees. There is a city park across the street. It is filled with White Dutch Clover at the present.
She has Paw Paw trees, apricots, sour cherry, and plum plus two garden plots. There is a patch of buckwheat planted along side her little greenhouse. Out by the street she has planted yellow sweet clover. Also in her front yard were potatoes, onions, herbs, purple coneflower, milkweed, etc.
I drove down by the levy overlooking the river. I then went around the neighborhood seeing what trees are available. Numerous people have dug up their front yards and planted gardens. Many had dwarf fruit trees planted out front as well. I saw peaches, apples, crabapples, sumac, elms, maples, etc.
She is excited and so am I!