Our beekeeping adventure started when we joined a local beekeeping group and attended their "Bee School". As gardeners, beekeeping seemed like a natural companion hobby. After all, bees and plants have a symbiotic relationship.

We weren't going to keep any bees the first year - "we'll just learn about them," we thought. We had expected no greater commitment than, say, collecting stamps or joining a bowling league. But everything changed with the collection of that first swarm of honey bees.

The bees have allowed us to have a glimpse into their world - one where society and order are completely different from our own.

The bees give us a reason to view our environment from a different perspective. Weather, bloom time, wind direction, sunlight, shadow and the seasons all take on a different meaning when viewed with bees in mind.

Our Hives

At House of Bees most of our bees are in vertical top bar hives, where they build natural comb. An example of this type of hive is shown in the picture to the left. This style of hive is a House of Bees exclusive.

This particular hive was painted by Rose Guastella. For more information about Rose, visit her online at Big Timber Studios.