I’ve recently had a disagreement about using an wooden arch painted with Cuprinol in my garden.  The arch was offered to me ‘cheap price’ and I bit off the hand.  It was a funny, ugly colour – a sort of brash brick red -but I wasn’t thinking about why, just planned to paint over it.

When the word Cuprinol cropped up in an innocent discussion about the aesthetics of the arch I blanched.  Cuprum, copper, is a heavy metal you don’t want in your garden – sorry I don’t want in my garden.  Preservatives used to, until recently, contain copper, chromium and arsenic but thankfully the latter two have been banned.

Trying to convince a homeopath that the small amounts won’t have any effect is like telling a neurotic not to worry.  I do understand the NIMBY side of the story though – not in my backyard,  so where?  In this case I really don’t want it in my garden.  I am trying to create a sanctuary for my 2 honey bee hives and the entrance to that area is where the arch will go.  To give bees the message that preserving the wood on the arch is more important than the risk of even the tiniest heavy metal toxicity just doesn’t compute.

Incidently bees appear to have moved into the space behind my Rayburn.  I offer a perfectly good empty hive literally metres away from this cavity and lovingly painted with a funky little design and what do they choose?  For more on the rollercoaster that is bee season see http://www.beeginnerbeekeeper.com