Two Straw Bee Skeps in a Cottage Garden

Straw bee skeps protected with large terracotta pots photographed by Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), who was one of Britain’s most influential garden designers and created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. In 1885, Jekyll started photographing the gardens, cottages and footpaths close to her family home in Surrey, England. During her career she took over 2000 photographs, using them to explore and record landscapes and gardens. They aided her design philosophy and were published in her books and alongside articles to illustrate visually the ideas discussed in her writing.