Five summers waiting for the lavender
We planted two rows of lavender behind the barn in 2021. This summer the bees finally made enough honey from it for a batch of its own.
#Hives #New honey
Lavender is a patient plant. The first summer it barely flowered, the second it sulked through a drought, and the third the bees mostly ignored it for the clover next door.
Moving six hives
This spring we moved six hives right next to the rows, so the lavender would be the closest food when it opened. Bees are practical: they go for the nearest good flowers first. In July the rows hummed so loudly you could hear them from the kitchen.
The first batch
We lifted the frames at the end of July, spun them on their own and kept the honey apart from everything else. It’s lighter than our clover, with a perfume that’s unmistakably lavender but not soapy, more like pear and honeysuckle.
There are about 300 jars. When they’re gone, they’re gone until next summer.