I have my own wonderful apiary in my garden in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, called The Beemuda Triangle – aptly named, as so many unusual bee related things seem to happen here. I’m not allowed to have more than 3 – 5 beehives (due to the size of my property), so most of the year, I’m limited to just three, but I love each and every bee!
RAW HONEY
I sell raw wildflower honey, completely untreated, unprocessed, straight from the hive – lightly strained/filtered. I have a variety of sizes and styles to choose from: 12oz BPA-free food grade REUSABLE squeezy bottle (to be reused for salad dressing, oils, condiments etc. – it it not meant to be discarded), all sizes of glass jars from 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz, 12 oz, 15 oz, 30 oz, 45 oz etc. Email me or text me if you’re interested.
I can also provide custom labels for these jars, so if you have a special occasion, or just someone’s birthday, or Halloween, or Bachelorette Party, or baby shower goody bags, Valentine’s day – let me know and I’ll create a custom label for your gourmet jars.
ORGANIC HONEY: Something a lot of people do not know – in the US, there is no such thing as “organic honey made in the USA“. You can buy organic honey in supermarkets, sure, but look at the label – you’ll see all organic honey is imported from other countries. There is nothing wrong with that – but it MUST be stated on the label WHERE that honey originated. I have taken huge commercial honey producers to task when they do NOT explain either on their websites or on their labels that their “organic honey” is NOT produced here in the USA. I even had to report one producer to USDA/FDA because they refused to change their labels or their website and stated that their honey was USDA grade A certified Organic Honey made in the USA. It can be USDA certified (certified according to that country’s organic standards, not our own), but again, it comes from other countries. NOWHERE on their website do they state that their organic honey is imported from Brazil and Uruguay (which it is). I believe in truth in labeling – the label is the law, so if you import organic honey – just put there which country it comes from. Simple! The USDA does not certify any organic honey made in the USA. A lot of smaller beekeepers state that their honey is organic – and what they mean is that they don’t treat their bees with any chemicals. That is still incorrect because their bees may be foraging off flowers nearby that are coated with pesticide residues or weed spray or mosquito repellents – so unless those beekeepers can follow every single bee, and make sure that those bees are only foraging on pure, UNTREATED flowers, then they cannot make that statement that their honey is organic. They can say their bees are not treated, but again, ORGANIC means absolutely NO chemicals. So even though I don’t treat my bees with chemicals, they may forage on someone’s flowers who has just sprayed for something, so I would NEVER state that my honey is organic. Raw – yes! Lightly filtered – YES! But Organic? NO WAY.
Having said that, I was recently made aware of an absolutely fantastic honey producer (and so much more than that!) called Killer Bees Honey https://www.killerbeeshoney.com/ located in the picturesque Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. While technically their honey is not certified as “organic” honey, I believe they are the closest thing to it – they are surrounded by 512,000 acres of the Pisgah National Forest, their honey is glyphosate free because the bees can forage on completely untreated flowers and blossoms – and if you just look at their website, not only will you immediately find your blood pressure going down (just look at those photos!!!), but you’ll see why their honey is absolutely astounding, award winning and ranks among the highest in Total Activity (TA) found anywhere in the world – boasting stronger antibacterial and healing properties than even manuka varieties. I can’t recommend them highly enough, if you’re looking for astounding, absolutely PURE, untreated raw honey – I think it’s probably one of the best in the world. Visit their website and you’ll be so impressed…..Anyway, I digress…..
My honey is raw, wildflower honey – it is not organic (due to reasons stated above), but my bees aren’t treated with chemicals – I use mechanical means to cope with small hive beetles etc., and I don’t heat my honey or process it in any way – it’s only filtered/strained through a fine mesh – and that’s the only human interference it has.
PRETTY BEEHIVES
I also custom paint beehives (the brood boxes/deeps and honey supers/mediums), called “Pretty Bee Hives”. “Pretty Bee Hives” are unique, custom painted and decorated genuine pine wood bee hivesthat I purchase from a reputable bee supply merchant. They are already assembled when I get them, but they have not been painted. I paint them with TWO coats of non-toxic low/no VOC exterior latex paint to protect them from the elements, and then add my custom designs with a unique and bright flare. Bright colors can actually help bees memorize what their hive looks like when they do their orientation flights and (in my opinion) can greatly help them findtheir way home again. THEIR hive is unique! No two beehives are alike. I include a deep/brood chamber or box and a honey super or medium – no frames or other hive components are included – and the designs are designed to fit one way and one way only i.e.the honey super pattern is designed to fit perfectly on top of the brood chamber – and there’s a very good reason why I do this. Why? Well, as we beekeepers know, sometimes when inspecting ourhives or harvesting honey from our supers, we lift the supers off and sometimes have to place them on the ground or on 4×4’s while we inspect. It can sometimes be confusing to remember which way you took that super off, and it’s important to put it back exactly the same way – so that it is facing the same direction it was when you originally took it off. By my designs, if you look at the super, you can tell immediately which orientation it belongs, so you cannot make a mistake and put the front of the honey super at the back, i.e. the wrong way around. Not only do Pretty Beehives look stunning in your apiary or garden, IT’S ART FOR YOUR GARDEN AND ART YOUR BEES WILL LIVE IN. I ship anywhere in the USA.
