Caring for Bees, Season by Season
January doesn’t slow things down for us. If anything, this is when everything overlaps — flowers, seed trays, greenhouse checks — and somehow the bees are always part of the conversation too.
Lately, people have been asking about them. How the hives are doing. When honey is harvested. What the season ahead might look like. Those questions usually lead to longer conversations about honey itself, and why local honey feels different once you start using it regularly.
Honey isn’t just something you keep around for when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s one of those ingredients that quietly works its way into everyday life- stirred into tea in the morning, spread on toast, paired with a flavorful cheese, whisked into a vinaigrette when dinner needs something extra. And the flavor really does change with the seasons. Spring honey tends to be lighter, softer, sweeter. Summer honey is deeper, a little richer flavor due to the strong pollens of that season. Once you notice that difference, it’s hard to go back.
Because our honey isn’t heavily processed, it keeps its personality — the subtle floral notes, the texture, even the way it crystallizes over time. It behaves differently in recipes, too. Not just sweet, but interesting. For a lot of people, it slowly becomes a pantry staple without much thought — you just keep reaching for it.
Right now, the bees themselves are tucked in, clustered together inside the hive, living off the honey they stored last fall. On warmer winter days, you might see a little activity at the entrance, which is always reassuring. Our winter checks are simple, careful, and quick. We’re not opening hives unless we need to. Mostly we’re making sure entrances stay clear, moisture doesn’t build up, and the colonies have what they need to make it through these colder weeks.
This time of year is more about paying attention than doing too much. Watching the weather. Taking notes. Thinking ahead to spring and how the flowers we’re growing will support the bees once they’re flying again in earnest. Strong hives now set the tone for the entire season.
Even when things feel quieter on the surface, there’s a lot happening beneath. And that steady relationship between bees and blooms is still at the center of everything we grow here.
If you’re coming to the flower market this week at Paws and Pints in West Des Moines, we’ll have honey sticks with us — a small taste from the hives while we’re all waiting for what’s next!
