Bloom and Buzz Apiary

05/08/2026

The honey aisle at any grocery store has a lot of labels. "Pure." "Natural." "All-natural." Some say raw. Most don't explain what any of it means.

We wrote it out: what heating and ultrafiltration actually remove, why pollen matters more than most people realize, and what raw honey looks like when it comes straight off the frame.

Raw honey vs store honey: what heating and filtering actually removes, why pollen matters, and what raw means on a label.

04/20/2026

The crown has been filled. Meet Charolette, the newest queen bee at Bloom & Buzz in Yuma, TN. Not every hive split goes according to plan, and this one didn't. But she's laying, the colony is settling, and the hive that came close to failing has a future again. Full story at the link below.
https://bloomandbuzz.com/new-queen-bee-west-tennessee-charolette/

04/01/2026

Every direction you look right now, the landscape is yellow. What you're seeing is one of the largest canola blooms our area has ever produced, and for Bloom & Buzz Apiary, it represents the most significant spring forage event we've experienced.

🌱 WHY IS CANOLA HERE?
This isn't wild. These are intentionally planted commercial fields, part of a biofuel supply chain partnership between agriculture giant Bunge, Chevron, and Pioneer seed. Farmers plant winter canola in September, it overwinters as a rosette, then bolts and blooms in spring before being harvested for canola oil, which is processed into renewable diesel. Tennessee was designated a rapeseed program state by the USDA in 2023, and acreage has expanded rapidly since.

🐝 WHY BEEKEEPERS LOVE IT
Canola is to spring beekeeping what clover is to summer. It produces both heavy nectar AND high-protein pollen simultaneously during the exact window when colonies need it most, early spring buildup. Our queens are laying wall-to-wall brood right now fueled by canola pollen, and the foragers are backfilling cells with pale nectar that will become our spring harvest.

🍯 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CANOLA HONEY
Canola honey is mild, clean, and very pale — almost white when fresh. It granulates faster than nearly any other honey variety, sometimes within weeks of extraction, which is why we'll be harvesting early and often. Properly extracted canola honey is smooth and spreadable — an excellent table honey and a legitimate varietal worth labeling.

We are watching a landscape in transition here in Carroll County. A new crop is changing the forage calendar — and right now, it's putting on one of the most spectacular shows we've seen.

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🌼 Want to follow this season from bloom to harvest? Hit Follow and join the Bloom & Buzz community. We share what's actually happening in and around the apiary — the forage, the hives, the honey, and the land behind it all. This is going to be a season worth watching.

Spring 2026 honey coming soon. 🌼

03/29/2026

It's been a little while since we've been in the hive, longer than we'd have liked! A few weeks back we noticed some of the frames had become unstable, so before doing anything else we needed to get those reinforced. Last weekend we got in there and secured them with screws to get everything solid again.

📌 Side note for any new beekeepers out there: always use glue when assembling your frames. We learned that one the hard way! A little wood glue during assembly goes a long way.

With the hive back in good shape, this weekend we did a split to help prevent swarming as we head into the season. After the split, we added a new box on top of each to give the colonies room to expand. To get those new frames ready, we rolled on molten beeswax — giving the bees a great foundation to start building comb right away. Fingers crossed they settle in and thrive! 🐝

📸 Photos below — including a couple shots of us waxing the frames!

02/27/2025

🌸 First Signs of Spring at the Apiary! 🐝

Spring is making its grand entrance, and the bees are starting to feel it! This beautiful crocus is one of the first flowers to bloom, offering an early source of pollen for our buzzing friends. While nature is still waking up, we’re making sure our hives are well taken care of—spring checks are underway, and we’re feeding our colonies with pollen and sugar to keep them strong until more flowers are in full bloom.

Soon, the landscape will be bursting with blossoms, and the bees will be hard at work. Until then, we’re keeping a close eye on them, making sure they’re happy, healthy, and ready for the busy season ahead! 🐝🌷🌞

12/15/2024

Here’s a glimpse of the next chapter for our garden—500 bare root plants starting their journey in pots, all part of a bigger plan to expand and strengthen our little ecosystem. By next year, this space will bloom into something extraordinary, built to better support our buzzing friends, the bees 🐝💛.