posted 6 years ago
Thanks, Anne.
We hashed out most of the design elements last night, and my much better half is writing up the proposal today, as she has the day off, and it's due by 4pm.
We're going with a two-foot deep planter idea, sized three-and-a-half by four feet or so, two sides of which will be bee hotel, habitats up to six inches deep in an eight inch wide frame, for the two-inch overhang.
Inside the planter box, which will be raised on 4"x4" post legs, I think we're going to use 2" rounded stones to create a triple-course funnel-shape, which will then be lined with landscape fabric and filled with soil. The stone layer will ensure no water hangs around to rot out the bee hotels from behind, and in hot, humid weather between thunderstorm events in the summer, it will act as an airwell.
I am also considering some kind of drip plate bee bath that would keep a moist and perhaps slightly muddy area just below the planter, for bees to drink, but also for those solitaries and wasps that need mud can have a ready supply.
As to materials, I am looking for data on species-specific materials and species of wood to use for the drilled blocks and reed/stick bundles, which will also be cut to size.
I am thinking about welded wire over the front, but if I can get away with it, I want to use chicken wire instead, to minimise its visual aspect.
And as it's an art project, I think what we're leaning towards is basically filling in the frame in such a way that the drilled blocks and bundled nesting materials describe a cityscape.
Oh, and we're looking at making three of these, each slightly different and at a slightly different height.
We're still working on how we're going to finish the back. I want shou sugi ban or barn boards, of which we potentially have a source, but ultimately we will see what is available and select a coherent materials palette then.
I appreciate the links, though. Most of the articles I read followed the introductory format, being sparse on details until the DIY how-to paragraph at the bottom; not exactly comprehensive. I had to skim a dozen or so articles to find details on species size and depth preferences for hole sizes and pest precautions.
I think we have enough figured out that we can finish the proposal for submission. But I actively encourage anyone with good ideas to share them.
Thanks again.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
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