What’s the buzz at John’s Country nursery? Bees! Approximately 4 million bees. For the past couple of months the nursery has been taking orders for #3 bee packages and nucs (a 5-frame box with bees, a queen, and some production already in progress) In May all of those bees will arrive at the nursery for pickup by our local beekeepers.
Geauga County, and North East Ohio in general are very fortunate to have so many beekeepers devoted to their hives. Bees are extremely important for so many products that we rely on. As they feed, bees spread pollen from flower to flower – a process called pollination, which is critical for plants to reproduce, produce seeds, and keep flowers and fruits coming in the months ahead. These are pivotal to our food supply, and, of course, the honey we harvest is a benefit as well.
As a celebration of what our honeybees do for us John’s Country Nursery has dedicated a fall festival to them! Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 18th, and join the fun at the 2nd Annual HoneyBee Festival held at the nursery (15808 Old State Rd., Middlefield.) The festival will feature educational/ agricultural based presentations, such as “Beekeeping for the Non-Beekeeper,” “Native Plants for Pollinators” and “Small Scale Mead Making” that go on all day, live music, food trucks, and approx. 40 vendors all featuring locally-grown, locally-harvested, or locally -crafted goods.
Something new to the Festival this year will be a “walk-in” Beehive, that will feature a wall of frames as you would see in an actual hive, showing the various stages of the production process. This hive will be totally made out of balloons, a creation by local artist Allen Stay, better known as Swifty the Clown. Swifty completed a similar project several years ago for Lake Metroparks Farmpark. As a beekeeper, Swifty is looking forward to this new challenge so much he has graciously donated his time to create this one-of-a-kind experience. McDowell Homes Real Estate Services is the Presenting Sponsor for this unique exhibit; giving our balloon bees their perfect home!
A children’s bee costume contest will also be part of the celebration, so mark your calendars for Saturday, September 18th, 10am to 5pm, to see what all the Buzz is about! Vendor spots are still available if you have products that are locally grown, or locally crafted, please contact the Nursery at 440-632-1600
