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DIANE BEES - Diane is a member of the NC State Beekeepers Association and has attained the level of the Journeyman in the state’s rigorous Master Beekeeping program. She is active in both the Buncombe and Henderson County Chapters where she’s served as newsletter editor and regular contributor to the annual Beginners’ Beekeeping Schools.
GARDENING - More volunteer work, especially teaching, also keeps Diane busy at The North Carolina Arboretum and with the Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Program. While she dabbles with her dozens of Old English roses and a not-too-pretty vegetable garden, her passions are the heathers and their cousins, the blueberry plants. She joined the North American Heather Society, attended their 2007 convention in New York, and published an article in their newsletter explaining how suitable the Heather family is for the southern Appalachian mountains despite their being little known and little used in the area.
BLUEBERRY JUNGLE - The farm had a well established, though wild, blueberry patch on the southeast slope below the back of the house. Taming and expanding the patch is one of Diane’s never-ending projects along with testing more than 25 varieties in the nursery.
A proud recipient of a 2008 Western North Carolina AgOptions Grant, Diane is using the funds to increase the gardens and apiary. She is also developing educational materials and offering workshops with the goal of making Honey Bees and Heather both an agri-tourism destination, and more importantly, a local educational resource.
We are proud members of and support the mission and the work of: CSFA (Carolina Farm Stewardship Association) ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project)
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Diane and Doug met through their mutual love of sport touring on motorcycles. They married, retired from their jobs in music (Diane in Milwaukee) and the automotive industry (Doug from GM in Detroit), and moved to the Asheville area.
While Diane eventually hung up her helmet to pursue her other interests, Doug made up for Diane’s lack of riding by adding a couple bikes to his stable which now numbers five, and exploring roads, back roads, off-road trails and the race track. He is extremely active in a wide array of both virtual and actual motorcycle communities. |
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DOUG handles equipment and yard maintenance -- everything from quickly erecting a 5-strand solar-powered electric fence to prevent a return trip from a marauding black bear to installing honey gates in our food-grade 5-gallon pails; from building pallets and work platforms in the bee yard to designing and assembling a 150-gallon capacity rain barrel system. He does all of the extracting and generally is the all-around go-to guy. Doug also renders beautiful, pure beeswax with incredible diligence and looks forward to earning a ribbon at the Mountain State Fair to join the one he earned for a honey exhibit.
In the yard, he does all the work outside the actual gardens; preferring tasks that require his well maintained equipment and gear, though when needed he rolls up his sleeves for grueling physical demands such as yanking cattails from the pond and pulling poison ivy out of trees.
We both enjoy the personal touch such as special custom labeling and discounts for our jar recyclers. Ultimately we are committed to a small, but growing sideline business, where our work is as much focused on stewardship and education as it is on harvesting honey, propagating plants and making a profit. |
