Organized Chaos Apiary and Gardens

Call Directions

Organized Chaos Apiary and Gardens Apiary started April 2021. Gardens started in 2001. Beekeeper & Gardener: Jason Campfield-Holdefer It is loaded with many types of goldfish and koi.

I started the gardens in 2001, and I have been adding to them ever since. I like to find interesting plants that not everyone grows, but I still have plenty of the traditional plants. I have some dedicated themed beds, there is the pig bed, which has many garden art pigs. I also have the hedgehog bed, which also has many garden art hedgehogs. I added a pond in 2020, made out of an old 800-gallon cattle trough, which was our swimming pool as kids. They live all year in the pond with the help of trough heaters during the winter. During the summer I have the pond loaded with many types of pond plants. The neighborhood wildlife love to visit the pond for a drink or take a refreshing bath. We have even had frogs show up and use the pond. I also added a small waterfall pond to the hedgehog bed in 2022. I added that one to hear the sound of running water while sitting on the front deck. On July 9th, 2022, my gardens were one of eleven gardens featured in the Master Gardener Garden Tour. They dubbed my garden as The Organized Choas Garden. This was due to the fact that my gardens are more of a Cottage Garden style. But I also try to introduce old farm equipment and odd forms of art. I view my style of gardening as chaotic, but it all makes since in my head, so it is Organized Chaos. In April of 2021, I started keeping bees. My mom bought me my first hive, twenty-three days after I got that hive, I had to expand to a second hive. In 2022, I added two more hives, they were at my mom's house at first. But she decided chickens and bees were too much to work on by herself, so those hives moved back to my apiary. In 2023, I added two more hives to the apiary. In 2024, I plan to add four hives to the apiary and move all but a few of my hives to a farm south of Indianola, Iowa. Since nothing I do is every easy, I have decorated each of my hives in a different theme. It is always fun trying to come up with a new theme for each hive. You can see the different hive in my photo albums.

Jeff Holdefer
10/24/2026

Jeff Holdefer

Hello Friday!Only 63 days till Christmas!!! Have you stayed shopping yet?

I have some hives that need to be stripped and sanded. Then over the winter some of them will get painted with their new...
10/24/2026

I have some hives that need to be stripped and sanded. Then over the winter some of them will get painted with their new themes.

10/23/2026

I am officially sold out of honey from last season. Now I just need to get bottles ordered for this year's harvest.

🍯 Last Jar Available! 🐝I have just ONE 21 oz jar of honey left for $21!I'd love to get this last jar sold before I start...
10/19/2026

🍯 Last Jar Available! 🐝

I have just ONE 21 oz jar of honey left for $21!

I'd love to get this last jar sold before I start offering this season's harvest.

If you're interested, please send me a message! First come, first served!

🐝 Organized Chaos Apiary 🍯

10/14/2026

So I am looking to purchase new types of bottles to bottle up this year's honey harvest.

My question to you all is what size bottles should I purchase?

Went out this morning for feed the bees. They were rather spicy today and srarted stinging the moment I got out of the t...
10/12/2026

Went out this morning for feed the bees. They were rather spicy today and srarted stinging the moment I got out of the truck. Got my suit on and did what I needed to do. When I take my suit off, I take it off some distance from the hives. But one of the spicy bees followed me. The moment my veil was off my head, it struck my right on the eyelid. By 5pm my eye is swollen shut.

🍯 One last jar up for grabs! I have one 21 oz jar of pure, raw, unfiltered honey left for $21.00. Who wants it? Comment ...
10/09/2026

🍯 One last jar up for grabs! I have one 21 oz jar of pure, raw, unfiltered honey left for $21.00.

Who wants it? Comment or message me to claim it! Pickup in the Ankeny area, or I may be able to deliver today if you’re in the Des Moines area.

🐝 Organized Chaos Apiary

10/01/2026
Had to go out to the bee yard yesterday. I was disappointed to find two of my hives had been robbed and were complete de...
09/29/2026

Had to go out to the bee yard yesterday. I was disappointed to find two of my hives had been robbed and were complete deadouts. The field was a swamp, so I had to carry the empty hives back to my truck. My body is paying for that today. I did get the yard mowed. Then I realized I forgot my treatments for the bees. So I had to drive all the way back home to get it and all the way back out to the yard. I put 158 miles on my truck for two those trips.

Made a huge dent in my beekeeping winter prep this past weekend! 🐝🍯I got all the hive boxes scraped and cleaned up, then...
09/08/2026

Made a huge dent in my beekeeping winter prep this past weekend! 🐝🍯

I got all the hive boxes scraped and cleaned up, then bagged them with moth crystals to help keep the wax moths away while everything is in storage. Fingers crossed I open them up next spring to find zero wax moth damage! 🤞🐝

Once everything was cleaned, treated, and bagged, I got the boxes stacked up on the shelves for their long winter nap.

One big beekeeping chore checked off the list! ✅

🐝 Now on to the next one... because apparently beekeeping has an endless supply of chores. 😂

Address

1618 NW Maple Place
Ankeny, IA
50023

Telephone

+15157834409

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Organized Chaos Apiary and Gardens posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category