Next-day pickup or free local weekend delivery. UPS shipping also available.
About Us
BEEKEEPER'S GARDEN is a private apiary located in the Abingtons in Northeastern Pennsylvania, just a few short miles from Lackawanna State Park. We maintain 10 to 15 hives and have been practicing organic and sustainable beekeeping since 2010.
We are a small-batch honey processor, harvesting 800-1,000 pounds per year, and we delight in separating out the flavor profiles of the seasons. In certain years when the spring weather and blooming conditions are just right, we are able to harvest the elusive Black Locust monofloral honey, which is very light and mild with hints of vanilla. In a typical year, our lightest yellow spring honey has a slightly fruity or citrus profile due to the nectars of early-blossoming fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. By early summer, this flavor and color profile evolve into a less-edgy light amber honey as the bees move to field flowers and the late-blooming basswood trees (also known as linden). Our light amber autumn aster honey is similar to a light butter toffee while the pungent orange goldenrod honey can be likened more to caramel. Our dark fall honey takes on different flavor profiles and hues depending on the dominant nectar sources of the season-–imagine a combination of brown sugar and birch.
We harvest three times a year: on the summer solstice in June to decidedly capture the early flavors of spring, mid-July after the basswood bloom, and at the autumn equinox in September. The best time to purchase our raw liquid honey is July-October. Our honey is unfiltered and never pasteurized, though we do gently warm our honey back to its liquid state at a controlled summer hive temperature once it begins to crystallize. Spring/summer honey typically begins to crystallize several months after harvest. Fall honey starts to crystallize several weeks after harvest. We offer both the raw crystallized and liquid options through our online store.
Beekeeper's Garden is registered with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. We primarily market our products through our online store for local pickup and delivery. We also ship via UPS to locations across the United States.
Where The Bees Are (Scroll Through Our Season)
Pussy willows are an early source of pollen for our bees in spring, usually early April. It blooms long before the dandelion.
Spring is not officially here at the apiary until the first full flush of dandelion, usually late April to early May.
Native to Pennsylvania, the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) tree blooms its clusters of fragrant white flowers over our beehives late May.
Native Rosa virginiana serves as a forage windbreak for the apiary. It blooms early to mid June. The rosehips are added to our elderberry honey.
Honey bees and other pollinators can be heard humming all over the wild raspberry blossoms in late May/early June.
The multiflora rose is a frequent pitstop for honey bees in early June.
Silky dogwood, native to the northeast, blooms mid-late June and is very attractive to honey bees.
Black elderberry (right) and staghorn sumac (left) bloom mid-June to July. Bees seek elderberry for its pollen and sumac for its citrusy nectar.
The native Tilia americana (basswood) trees provide shade for our beehives and intense forage for our bees. Basswood trees bloom late June-early July.
Hedge mustard plants itself wildly all over the property and blooms all summer long.
The blossoms on our wild raspberries are a prized food source for honey bees in early June. Ample fruits in July are a result of thorough pollination.
Milkweed, a superior nectar source for honey bees and other pollinators, has found a sunny space to proliferate near the bee yard. It blooms mid-July.
Goldenrod covers our hillside and anywhere else it can plant itself. It blooms from late August through September.
Rosehips from our Rosa virginiana are harvested in September for use in our black elderberry honey.
Wild-growing asters produce a light honey in the fall and add a buttery flavor to our darker fall flower blend. Asters bloom August to October.
Native white birch and river birch serve as a source of pollen and propolis for the bees.
Bees collect propolis from trees like white pine.
The sun sets behind our hidden bee yard and a tree line of tall sugar maples and cherry. The trees provide early spring forage for honey bees.