Landscape & forage

Honey from the edge of Wijk bij Duurstede

The bees of Aristaios stand on the edge of Wijk bij Duurstede, close to the Kromme Rijn and the Noorderwaard. It is a good place for a bee colony. Within a radius of about three kilometres the bees find a varied landscape: riverbanks, orchards, meadows, gardens, pollarded willows, hedges, verges and the first stretches of countryside towards Cothen.

A honey bee usually does not fly around at random. She chooses the place where something is available at that moment: nectar for honey, pollen for brood, or both. Honey therefore always tells something about the surroundings and about the season in which the bees made it.

A radius of three kilometres

Three kilometres may sound small, but for a bee colony it is a large area. From the apiary this includes the northern edge of Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn, parts of the Noorderwaard, the direction of Cothen, several cherry orchards nearby, other fruit orchards in the countryside, ditches, farmyards, gardens and flower-rich edges.

That makes this place interesting. It is not a landscape with one single major forage such as heathland or a rapeseed field. It is a mosaic. In early spring willows and fruit blossom offer a great deal. Later clover, bramble, lime, verge flowers and waterside plants take over. In autumn ivy is important for the last pollen round of the year.

Early spring: willow, alder and the first flowers

The bee season often begins earlier than you think. On mild days in February and March the first foragers come outside. They mainly look for pollen. This is needed to start the brood nest again.

Around the Kromme Rijn and along wet edges, willows are very important. Pollarded willows, white willows and other willow species give plenty of early pollen and sometimes nectar. For a bee colony that is worth gold. Alder and hazel can also provide early pollen, although they are mainly build-up sources and not a true honey flow.

In gardens and farmyards the bees also find crocuses, snowdrops, winter aconite, lungwort and other early flowers. They are small sources, but in a period with little flowering they do make a difference.

Spring: fruit blossom along the Kromme Rijn

In April the surroundings change quickly. The area around Wijk bij Duurstede and Cothen belongs to the Kromme Rijn fruit-growing region. There are also several cherry orchards close to the apiary. For bees this is an important period. Plum and cherry often flower first, followed by pear and apple.

On good blossom days a colony can grow quickly. The bees collect nectar and pollen from the orchards, but also from dandelion, blackthorn, hawthorn, maple, cuckoo flower and ground ivy. That combination makes the spring forage here attractive.

Spring honey from this area will usually be light and floral. Not from one plant, but from everything that is open at the same time: fruit blossom, willow, dandelion and the first flowers in verges and gardens.

May and June: verges, hedges and grasslands

After the fruit blossom the forage shifts. The bees then search more in verges, hedges, meadows and rough edges. Dandelion, white dead-nettle, cow parsley, buttercup, clover, vetch, hawthorn and later bramble are important in this period.

White clover in particular can give much nectar, provided it is not mown too early or too often. That is an important point: not everything that can flower actually gets the chance to flower. Mowing, drought and temperature determine how much there is really to gather.

In an area like this, June is often a transition month. The spring flow runs down, while the summer flow starts up. For the beekeeper this is a period to watch carefully: do the colonies continue to build, does nectar come in, or is there a gap in forage?

Summer: bramble, lime, clover and watersides

In summer the landscape changes again. Bramble flowers along woodland edges, hedges, rough places and field margins. Bramble is valuable for bees: it gives nectar and pollen and often flowers richly. Lime can also be important in this period, especially where lime trees stand in lanes, gardens, parks or along roads.

The bees also visit white clover, thistles, purple loosestrife, water mint, hogweed, knapweed and other flowers of verges and ditch edges. The Kromme Rijn, ditches and wet margins mean that flowering places can remain even in dry periods.

Summer honey from this area can therefore be fuller and more herbal than spring honey. If lime contributes strongly, that can often be noticed. If clover and bramble dominate, the honey is usually softer and rounder.

Late summer: what remains

In August and September the supply becomes more variable. Some verges have been mown, grasslands are drier and many trees have finished flowering. Still, bees can find enough, especially in rough corners, along water and in gardens.

Think of purple loosestrife, water mint, thistles, goldenrod, autumn aster, stonecrop, sunflower and sometimes green manure crops such as phacelia or mustard. For honey yield this is usually not the main period, but for the colony it is important. The bees prepare for winter and need good pollen for strong winter bees.

Autumn: ivy as the last major source

When many other plants have finished flowering, ivy begins. People sometimes hardly notice that bloom, but for bees ivy is an important late forage plant. On mild autumn days an ivy plant can hum with bees.

Ivy provides nectar and pollen when the supply becomes scarce. For Aristaios this is mainly food for the colony itself. Ivy honey crystallises quickly and is usually not harvested as a separate honey. Its value lies especially in supporting the winter bees.

What makes this place special?

The strength of this apiary site lies in its variety. Within three kilometres, town and countryside lie next to each other. The bees can go to the Kromme Rijn, to orchards, gardens, verges, meadows and the edges of the floodplains.

That means the honey can differ from year to year. Drought, flowering and flying weather determine which plants really contribute: one year more clover and verge flowers, another year more bramble or lime.

That variation belongs to local honey. Aristaios honey is therefore not a standard product. It is an imprint of the season, made by the bees in the landscape around Wijk bij Duurstede.

Honey from nearby

Anyone who opens a jar of Aristaios honey tastes more than honey. You taste the edge of Wijk bij Duurstede, the blossom towards Cothen, the willows along the water, the clover in the verge, the bramble in the rough edge and the limes in the summer sun.

That is the charm of local honey. It does not come from an anonymous place, but from a recognisable landscape. A landscape where the bees find their way day after day.