This is a space where people actively work, so it must be navigable. A set of terraces were designed to allow for easy movement up and across the slope. These terraces are designed wide enough for moving hives and harvesting equipment, while also allowing multiple people to occupy the space. Crushed, compacted stone makes a ground surface that is easy to navigate and suppresses invasive plant growth around the base of the hives.

Due to the heavy clay content and areas of shallow soil on the terraces, our intuition for a design was to install multiple pocket meadows. Meadow plantings would provide food for the hives, create habitat for predatory insects and birds to keep mite populations in check, and would not obscure observation of the apiary. To prepare for a meadow, the tree canopy had to be thinned to let in more sunlight. Shade cast by the canopy not only suppresses growth of flowering meadow plants but impacts the daily rhythm of the hives. Sunlight warming the hives is a trigger for honey bees to wake up and begin their daily foraging.

As anyone who has maintained a chain link fence can attest, keeping the base clear of vines and sprouts can be challenging. We decided to use deep rooted grasses, such as Yellow Prairie Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), not only for their outstanding ability to control erosion, but also as a kind of living weed barrier both above and below the soil. Behind the apiary we designed a thicket composed of Prairie Willow (Salix humilis), Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), and Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia). As this area matures it will spread and shade out the ground layer, limiting further germination of invasive seeds. Even at full maturation, the thicket will not reach a height that would shade out the hives or pocket meadows.