Bee swarm collection in Greater London

The capital opens early on crocus in the parks, then builds on blackthorn, cherry plum and Japanese cherry through March and April. The defining London flow is lime — avenues of common, small-leaved and silver lime line central streets from Regents Park to Bermondsey, producing the distinctively pale, mineral London honey of June. Bramble and rosebay willowherb fill brownfield sites and railway embankments, and a huge secondary ivy flow carries hives deep into autumn on Victorian cemeteries and garden boundaries.

London Beekeepers Association and a constellation of borough branches — Ealing, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Camden, Tower Hamlets, Bromley, Barnet — support one of the densest urban beekeeping communities anywhere. Collectors here are experienced at retrieving swarms from balconies, chimney pots, office air-conditioning units, and the inside of rarely-used barbecues in south-facing gardens.