The Humble-Bee Gardeners
In the October 2021 issue of Local Ludlow, we found out all about the Humble-Bee Gardeners from owners Jenny and Frantisek…
Tell us about each aspect of your business and how they complement each other? The Humble-Bee Gardeners Ltd (Maintenance) and The Humble-Bee Landscaping & Construction Ltd (Designs and Builds) are sister companies with the same background, working together. Combined, our teams provide a holistic service to cover all aspects of garden builds, from the design and the build itself, to the planting and aftercare.
Nestled within the Landscape Company is our very own peat-free Plant Nursery. We love plants and the spaces they grow in and designing and building gardens means we can grow the plants we want to put in them too. Perfect! Grown among the forests in Whitcliffe, Ludlow, our plants have to be tough. We grow a wide range of hardy perennials, specialising in shade lovers and bee-friendly flowers, with a select range of shrubs and climbers.
We are peat free and phasing out plastics where possible. We do not use neonicotinoid pesticides and grow the plants as sustainably as possible, with care for the wider environment.
When and how did your business begin? As horticultural students, we (Frantisek and Jenny) met in Scotland in 2013 where Jenny was completing her study at Cambo Gardens in Fife. A loving and enduring relationship ensued!
After relocating to London for Jenny to start her SOC Alpine traineeship at RHS Wisley, Frantisek formed The Humble-Bee Gardeners as a one-man band in South London. We combined forces on planting design and went on full time together after relocating again to somewhere with a bit more space and close to family… Ludlow, Shropshire.
The Humble-Bee Gardeners has now been Ludlow based since 2015 and has grown year on year. From the beginning we have benefitted from a wonderful, loyal and growing client base and were lucky enough to find team members who carry equally our ethos and dedication.
Our garden team now consists of another four full-time horticulturists, each with their own area of expertise but united in our passion for horticulture and all working hard to create lasting and inspiring spaces for our clients.
We aim to care for gardens with only a positive impact to the wider environment. We avoid pesticides or chemicals and encourage all our gardens to contribute to the health of the local flora and fauna.
The Humble-Bee Landscaping & Construction Ltd was born when Jenny was expecting our first baby. Frantisek’s best friend Pavel swooped in to save the day, and Jenny’s legs… by covering her maternity leave. In doing so he created his own niche using his specialism in construction, woodworking and machinery to forge his own branch of Humble-Bee.
Finally, with Pavel’s help, we could not only design gardens and maintain them, but build them too! Our Landscaping Team has since built an amazing reputation locally, through word of mouth alone, and is a bright and brilliant complement to our Gardens and Nursery.
Where did the name come from? We were named The Humble-Bums at local pub quizzes in London. This is an ode to Jenny’s second cousin Gerry Rafferty (the Scottish musician), whose first band with legendary Comedian Billy Connelly was called The Humble-Bums.
Upon choosing a name for the gardening business that hinted at our love of natives and pollinators, and taking into account that Frantisek was a beekeeper for 15 years, we circled around the word Bumble-Bee. On finding that Darwin’s original name for the bumblebee was in fact humblebee, it made sense to combine this wonderful word and make The Humble-Bee Gardeners our name! It was meant to bee…
What has been your favourite project so far? It has to be creating a new outdoor classroom and mud kitchen for Bitterley C of E Primary School as part of a Lottery Funded Initiative. It started just before Covid struck so creating a useful outdoor space became even more imperative to the health of the school. It’s been great knowing that it will benefit the growth of a new generation and many more still to come, we hope!
Do you have a favourite season or plant to work with? Our favourite season is all of them! But the most exciting is winter, when we can finally get around to team days with tool maintenance and planning for the year to come… Seeing those heralds of spring, the snowdrops and winter aconites, gives a sneak peak of the year approaching and the exciting projects ahead.
Do you have any future plans for the business? This year has been a big one as we acquired a new seven-acre site for the future home of the business. There is a lot still to do but we are very excited to have a dedicated base for our teams and plant nursery. More space for our growing plant collection… The Humble-Bees have a Hive!
What are you most proud of regarding your business? We feel most proud of the moments where we can genuinely help our clients rediscover their love of gardening. It can be quite overwhelming at times when you feel a garden is out of control and we love coming in and helping uncover those hidden gems or simplifying and recreating a garden for them to enjoy as their own personal Eden. Encouraging people to embrace the wild and creating a balance for them and nature is so rewarding.
