Keeping up with the Bees
R&B Lavender Farm isn’t just about growing lavender. Since we planted our first lavender bush, we planned for the addition of bees to our farm. In 2024, we established two active beehives. In May, we caught and rehomed a wild swarm, adding a third hive to our apiary.
Bees provide a wide range of benefits, including pollinating our lavender flowers, which helps them create more blooms for a richer, more vibrant harvest. Bees also pollinate wildflowers, which are essential for maintaining diverse ecosystems and supporting other wildlife.
Having bees also aligns beautifully with our commitment to ethical growing, supporting a bio-diverse farm and connecting people with nature and each other, fostering a sense of well-being as well as a responsibility for the environment.
Offering a healthy and calm environment for visitors is part of our vision at R&B Lavender, and we have come to learn by experience that the bees provide a deep, calming experience as they work away in the lavender fields.
When you stand among the lavender in full bloom, there are so many pollinators that you can physically feel their humming. It is an amazingly calming experience. We will sit down in the rows of lavender and watch the bees working away among the blooms. It’s very peaceful and calming. The constant gentle buzzing encourages us to be at peace, to reset and restore amid nature’s rhythms, offering moments of serenity in our busy days.
When we were ready to introduce bees to the farm, we reached out to Dhyana Londono at Symbeeosis because her “small apiary with a big heart” seemed a perfect fit for R&B Lavender.
Dhyana’s philosophy and approach to beekeeping is not just about honey production. She approaches beekeeping with a deep reverence for these essential pollinators, and she strives to nurture the vital connection between us and the natural world.
Dhyana helped us establish our initial hives and is mentoring us to take care of the bees ourselves. She was also instrumental in helping us when we spotted the wild swarm. Watch as Dhyana helps us settle the bees into their new home. What an exciting gift to receive on May 20, International Bee Day!
We hope to harvest honey from the hives this year and use it in products we will sell. The bees provide an opportunity to educate the public. We share our knowledge about the bees during our farm tours. Dhyana is also willing to give educational talks to groups. Contact us if you are interested in booking a presentation for your group.
R&B Lavender Farm is about creating a beautiful and peaceful space to share with others. We strive to have a positive impact on the environment and the community. To that end, we have intentionally left areas of the farm in their natural state to offer biodiversity. The bees are a symbol of what we want people to have when they visit our farm: a peaceful and mutually beneficial experience.