For years before I owned a home, I talked about wanting to keep bees. When I finally bought a home in Atlanta’s Ormewood Park neighborhood in 2014, my sister bought me a starter hive kit as a housewarming gift. And with that, I had to put my money where my mouth was.
I took a beekeeping course at Atlanta Botanical Garden hosted by the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association. It was an intensive, eye-opening experience followed by a hand’s on hive inspection by some of the area’s most veteran beekeepers. It was a lot to process and it made it clear that beekeeping, particularly now, was not for the faint of heart. But I was hooked. A few months later, I picked up my bees and my tiny, backyard apiary was up and running.
Several months later, I was in my kitchen processing frames and frames of honey and wax. I was entranced by the flavor our neighborhood’s gardens and greenspaces had created. It was entirely unlike any pure crop honey I’d ever had. Every year since, I look forward to what unique “vintage” my little partners create from their foraging.
Mistakes were made, lessons were learned but at the end of that first season I had far more honey than any single person could eat (not that I didn’t consider trying). I gifted some to friends and family; and on a whim, I posted on our neighborhood’s social media groups. I was shocked at the response. In less than a week, every bottle had been bought!
Five years later in 2019, with the support and encouragement of friends and neighbors, I’m still at it! And I’ve decided to make my hobby hives “legit” with a website, blog and online store. I hope all of you that supported local beekeeping in past years, continue to do so, and join me in enjoying the products of our hardworking little friends.
