Advertisement ::

Enlarge Cartoon

I went to Schilliger Garden Center in Gland at the end of the week: more on that later.

Near the checkout I had a nice surprise, with Francois Schilliger’s honey from Eysins, near Nyon, on display because it won a national award. There were two kinds of forest honey, spring, which is creamy and pale, and summer, which is dark and clear. Now comes the confession: when I was younger I hated bees because they scared me.

Gradually, as a gardener, I’ve moved from loathing them to watching them from a safe distance to moving in closer because they are fascinating.

I now very much enjoy the bees in my garden, and there are several varieties of them. They are far less interested in me, something I was relieved to discover.

But I will never be a beekeeper, of that I am sure. I am embarrassed to say that I know almost nothing about honey, how it is made, the varieties, and so on.

I once went to a beekeepers’ convention and was impressed by their knowledge and love of the little buzzers, but I couldn’t see putting on one of those hats with nets and the rest of the gear.

And yet I am an avid fan. My workday is not complete if I don’t take a 10:00 break for tea and toast with honey on it.

Here is Friday’s toast, with the Schilliger spring honey, which will be keeping me happy for the rest of this winter, every weekday
morning.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.