elderberries, Russian queens and the lusciousness of summer

To speak about the elderberries, this Saturday July 16 @ 10 AM we are honored to welcome Lewis Hill, Greensboro, Vermont and Denis Charlebois, St-Jean-sur-Richleau, Quebec, Agriculture Canada to our honey house on Route 7 in Ferrisburgh.

Lewis and Nancy Hill are authors of many books on gardening and plants. As friends of Honey Gardens over the years, they have encouraged us in our work with bees and plants, introduced us to elderberry and provided the cultivars for our organic elderberry nursery. These cultivars, Coomer and Berry Hill, have been selected for growing larger berries and good overwintering.

Elderberry is a “turning point” word in my work with bees over the last 40 years. Without the elderberry, Honey Gardens would not be here for it was the elderberry, as it was mixed with our bees’ raw honey and propolis, that allowed us to make an effective formula and diversity into plant medicine. Elderberry has the anti-viral agents that chemical medicines do not have and thus many people find relief support for colds, flu, and building up their immunity system within hours.

Lewis will share stories from a lifetime of growing plants in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The Coomer and Berry elderberry cultivars will be available one of each is necessary for good pollination and fruit set.

Denis coordinates the research on elderberry farms across Quebec. One of the original purposes of the project was to study the use of elderberry as natural color for the European market, and now the berries are being used in jam, wine, and medicine. We visited an organic field on one of these farms recently it is exciting to see more acreage being devoted to medicinal plants and crops that provide income for small farms as they diversity.

Sam and I were in the High Laurentian Mountains of Northern Quebec recently visiting Anicet Desrochers and family. Anicet has provided the Russian bees over the years that are crucial to our organic beekeeping, strengthening the bees and helping them overcome the mites. As most of the Honey Gardens bees died over last winter and fall, we have had an opportunity to introduce more Russian queens and re-build our colonies. One of the exciting moments during this visit was when Anicet said that his bees were moving into the era beyond mites, and that they are no longer an issue with his bees.

We have been harvesting and extracting the new crop for several weeks, and it is beautiful. The rain and heat have brought many luscious flowers to the land, and we are grateful.

Thank you for your interest in and support of the work of our bees and plant medicine.