oooh, heaven is a place on earth...
owned and maintained by leroy sommer and henrietta preobrazhensky, apfelbienen (literally: apple bees) is a 30 acre farm outside of cologne, germany. purchased by roy in september of 2020, it's intended to function as
an apple orchard,
an apiary,
a horse sanctuary, and
an artists' residency (view pics for aesthetic vibes here!).
above: an exterior shot of the main house. view more exterior photos here, and a collection of liminal spaces here. there are various other structures around the farm (the a-frame, the barn, the stables, etc) which can be viewed to the left!
artists & artist housing... across the way from the main house, one will find the artists' housing. at any given time, there are six artists in residency at apfelbienen! there are six ground floor studio apartments, each one named, with a communal space connecting the apartments. view the artist housing exteriors here!
above: an exterior shot of the main house. view more exterior photos here, and a collection of liminal spaces here. there are various other structures around the farm (the a-frame, the barn, the stables, etc) which can be viewed to the left!
first floor
— foyer / exhibit space
— living room
— dining room
— kitchen
— master bedroom
— study / office
— bathrooms
— living room
— dining room
— kitchen
— master bedroom
— study / office
— bathrooms
second floor
— guestroom one
— guestroom two
— guestroom three
— guestroom four
— guestroom five
— library / communal space
— studio
— guestroom two
— guestroom three
— guestroom four
— guestroom five
— library / communal space
— studio
artists & artist housing... across the way from the main house, one will find the artists' housing. at any given time, there are six artists in residency at apfelbienen! there are six ground floor studio apartments, each one named, with a communal space connecting the apartments. view the artist housing exteriors here!
last updated: 14 may 2021
the apiary
located near the garden, the bee hives are maintained primarily by henri! there is currently one hive on the apfelbienen grounds!the garden
words taken directly from @rainie: the garden is sparse with room to grow, and has a pergola, vertical bed and trellises waiting to be installed. the border is made up of four different types of bee balm everywhere supplemented by tall flowers like irises, blue camassia & lupin. watch out for those spring allergies!currently: it's the dead of spring so there are borages, phlox and cornflowers in bloom.
the hive itself is surrounded by utilitarian flowers like
crocuses
to help the queen settle in,
cirsium rivulare
are for the males. in an attempt to start cross-pollination, there's a plot drawn out with rows of
seeded globe artichokes,
chive flowers, and
nasturtium,
then another section that's closest to the a-frame that's the
herb garden with
basil,
thyme, and
mint!
the stables
when apfel was adopted a few months ago, he had very nasty feet. his feet are currently in tip top condition which means he's a riding horse! apfel is 10 years old, very gentle, and goes at a very slow pace- this isn't because he's incapable of going faster, he just has a very leisurely personality. he stands 6' from hoof to shoulder. can't get enough of apfel? view more pics here!
where apfel is leisurely, bienen is very proactive and ambitious! she goes out of her way to jump over obstacles, her thundering hooves can be heard from a great distance, and it's thought that she flips her hair just because it's fun. much like apfel, bienen is a very tall belgian draft, standing at 6'2" from hoof to shoulder. is bienen the most beautiful creature you've ever seeen and you'd like to see more? view more pics here!
the pig pen
the pig pen is 8'x16'. it's essentially a fence and a small covered area ("the pig house") that can comfortably contain four pigs.
there is currently one pig on the farm, beethoven, an adopted mangalica pig (read as: fuzzy pig) who's owned by naz but lives at apfelbienen because, like, it's nice to run around a farm when you're a pig.
the chicken coop & quail nests
the chicken coop is yet another collaborative effort by apfelbienen residents and its guests. the chickens are free range- this means there are frequent egg hunts around the farm, so mind where you step! along the same lines- quail nests and coops have been placed around the farm. this is partially because apfelbienen residents love quail, but more importantly: they're wild for eggs!
the goat cathedral
there is but one goat that currently inhabits this cathedral: a grumpy old fellow, one that roy remembers not so fondly...the rabbit hutch
built by flora and bastian sommer, the rabbit hutch currently houses six rabbits that are, as one can imagine, very fun to cuddle. nearby locations
orchard house → formerly opa and oma's farmhouse, has since been turned into a nonprofit that provides housing and job training for immigrant & refugee families. there are gsl & esl classes, as well as music classes. when it comes to farm work, an offer of helping hands is never refused!abfall studio → the abfall studio is located in cologne and if one is interested in sequins, faux feathers, and fittings, then this is the place to be! the abfall npcs frequently come in and out. get to know them: casja baumann swiss, 28, bead genius, a design school friend of roy's, she's the one that came up w/the bead technique germanier uses!
evgeny koskov russian, 29, another design school friend, very good at sewing and can accurately assess one's measurements with ONE LOOK!
azure labelle belgian, 23, social media manager and pr wunderkind! photo reference for the abfall studio can be found here!
hinterlands → henry and lina's farm and the sommer siblings ancestral home!
20 june 2021 → summer solstice exhibit opening current exhibit: tba once up and running, apfelbienen will host a new exhibit featuring the five artists in residence as well as artists of note. a new exhibit opens at the beginning of each season around the time of their respective equinoxes/solstices. the first exhibit is set to open on summer solstice 2021.
