At London’s Kew Gardens last month, I explored the buzzed-about interactive art installation The Hive. Airily constructed of aluminum and towering nearly 56 feet high (which seems even higher atop a small hill), The Hive was created by artist Wolfgang Buttress for the 2015 Milan Expo. It now has a permanent home at Kew amid a pollinator-attracting wildflower meadow that includes 34 native species.

From various angles The Hive evokes a swarm of bees rising into the air, a beehive, or the hexagonal cells of a honeycomb.

A curving path encircles the structure as it climbs through the meadow toward an upper-story entrance…

…allowing for an immersive, bee-level experience among daisies and other bee-friendly flowers.

Oh, hello there!

LED lights built into the structure flicker in time to the real-time vibrations of honeybees in a nearby hive, I read. I’d have liked to see that effect, but on this cloudy afternoon in mid-June it wasn’t noticeable. What is noticeable, however, is a wonderful, humming sort of music audible throughout the meadow and inside The Hive. It evokes the calm buzzing of bees and is lovely to hear as you rise from the meadow into the hive-like structure, suddenly rendered bee-sized yourself.

Take a listen.

Steel-rod fence along the top of the hill

Daisies and rusty steel make a nice combo.

Top-of-the-hill view of the Orangery in the distance.

Stepping inside The Hive is like stepping into a kaleidoscope. You can’t help looking up the dizzying, lattice-like walls toward the sky. The translucent, glassy floor has a hexagonal honeycomb pattern.

Here are my husband and daughter standing inside The Hive, looking down at me underneath.

Beneath The Hive, a gabion bench curves around the inside edge of the meadow. A sign next to a pillar invites you to insert a thin wooden stick, take the stick between your teeth, and feel the vibrations of a bee colony in your head — approximating the experience of how bees communicate with each other. There were no sticks available during our visit, unfortunately, so I didn’t get to try it.

Here’s The Hive and its humming music from underneath.

It’s a marvelous experience for the eyes, ears, and touch, and of course it’s meant to highlight the importance of bees and other pollinators for crop production and the overall health of our planet.

If you’re at Kew, bee sure to see it.

Coming up next: Kew’s Alpine House rock gardens. For a look back at Kew’s flowery perennial border and rose garden, click here.

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