In 2023 we welcomed our beekeeper, Becca, to the farm. We’d always loved the idea of having bees but no one wanted to take on the responsibility. When a mom from my daughter’s preschool approached us about the possibility it was an enthusiastic and automatic YES.

Becca always has a smile on her face and a (bee) fact up her sleeve. We’ve all learned so much in just a year from her about these special creatures with a fascinating structure of working harmoniously towards a common goal, and we’ve benefitted from their sweet work in the form of delicious honey. Besides the treat of eating HOT honey right out of the comb on a warm July day, it is a treat to see the honey bees buzzing in our field, busy busy collecting pollen to take back to the hives. They work fast and furiously. They love (LOVE) poppies, just as I do. They are harmless if respected (and will let you know when you aren’t being respectful, HAHA!) I have a wasp allergy and healthy fear, and have no problem working alongside the honeybees all day every day.

As an aside, often our customers and friends of the farm assume that bees are beneficial to our flowers. As a cut flower grower, the opposite is actually true. Bees pollinating our flowers can cause them to open faster before the perfect harvest stage (which is not ideal). However, we grow SO MANY flowers that there is more than enough to sacrifice for the sake of the bees. Some growers use the bees to pollinate their dahlias, zinnias, celosias and other flowers because they are aiming for cross pollination to create new varieties.

I sat down with Becca to ask her a few questions about beekeeping this week (and snapped a few shots last summer of her working with them) and am delighted to share a little from our chat with you!

Becca, how did you get started with beekeeping? I grew up on a farm and was exposed briefly to beekeeping at a young age. I stopped at an FCBA (Frederick County Beekeepers Association) booth at the Great Frederick Fair and in 2023 took a class they offered to earn a beekeeping certificate. It’s a really great organization and they offer a lot of classes! You can check them out here

What is the name of your company and where did you come up with it? “Bee Still & Know Honey Co.” It’s from a bible verse (Psalm 46:10) and I love a good bee pun.

How do you stay calm around the bees? I always read that they sense your energy. I have ADHD and in order to be the safest and best beekeeper I can be, I need to slow down and know what I am doing. This keeps the bees and me as safe and happy as possible. I do rely on my equipment during the dearth (when nectar flow lessens) because the bees can become a little more feisty. The bees definitely feed off of my energy! If I do get stung, I stay calm and keep moving.

Do you think the bees have a favorite flower in our fields? Actually yes — They really seemed to love the dahlias. There is not much food available in the fall and they seemed to be in a frenzy in your dahlia patch. I will add that the hive I had at your farm was *VERY* chill compared to other hives I have seen - I attributed that to having such diverse food sources throughout the season.

Between Climate Change and all of the farm development we are seeing, what is the biggest danger to the honeybee? Pesticides are one of the biggest threats, up there with habitat loss, pathogens, climate change and invasive species. Bees can travel up to 25 square miles so even if you aren't spraying pesticides at your farm, the distance they can travel leaves them susceptible. Climate change translates to a change in the bee’s season, but they are very adaptable, however they aren’t getting the food they need early in the season and so I do often have to help by supplementing for them.

Are bees as important as we hear about all the time? They are incredibly important to our ecosystem. Approximately 90% of the plants we grow require pollinators to help with reproduction — and Honey Bees are responsible for approximately 80% of that pollination. A decrease in pollinators = a decrease in food production. Our world would be much less colorful and much hungrier without bees!

What are you making? Honey! It’s unusual to get a measurable amount of honey in your first season but we harvested about 40 gallons and are really enjoying it. In 2024 I am looking to harvest at least double that so if all goes well we should have some to sell. We are also harvesting some beeswax and will be harvesting propolis this season - it’s an anti-microbial, but honey is our primary focus.

Becca, it is a joy to host you at the farm, and we are excited to keep working alongside these busy bees (and welcome the rest of your hives) in 2024!

Video of bees coming in and out of beehive at Belle Blooms Farm