Honey Tree Orchard & ApiaryCedar Bluff, Virginia
Rows of corked bottles of raw, strained honey

Life on the farm

The Honey House

Where the honey from our bees is extracted, strained and bottled. Here is how it came together.

Our honey

From bare walls to the jar

  1. Fall 2022

    The building arrives

    It started outside, with a lofted barn-style building set on the hill. Warm tan siding, a dark roof, and a covered front porch with a sunburst railing.

    The honey house building with its covered porch and sunburst railing, just set in place
    The honey house standing below bare winter trees on the hillside

  2. Winter 2023

    Keeper of the bees

    A bee sign went up over the porch, and the outside was ready. Then the work moved indoors.

    Front of the honey house with its porch, windows and bee sign

  3. January 2023

    Building the honey house

    The honey house began as a bare shell. Insulation went into the walls, then the walls were closed in and the room started to feel like a real workspace.

    Insulation going into the walls of the unfinished honey house
    The honey house closed in with new walls, a loft and a wooden ladder

  4. February 2023

    A coat of honey gold

    Then came the paint: warm honey-gold walls and bright lights. Fitting, for a room built for honey.

    The honey house freshly painted a warm honey gold

  5. Spring 2023

    Getting the hive boxes ready

    While the honey house was coming together, there was hive equipment to prepare for our bees. Boxes were assembled and painted in cheerful yellow and teal.

    Freshly painted yellow and teal hive boxes stacked up to dry
    A stack of new wooden hive boxes with frames ready to go

  6. August 2023

    Finished and ready

    By late summer the honey house was finished, with a long work counter, honey buckets with gates, and the extractor standing ready.

    The finished honey house work counter lined with yellow honey buckets
    The stainless steel honey extractor on its yellow stand

  7. Extraction

    From frame to bucket

    Frames go into the extractor, which spins the honey out of the comb. It runs out the gate and through a strainer into the bucket below. That's it: raw, strained honey, nothing else added.

    Honey pouring from the extractor gate through a strainer into a yellow bucket

  8. September 2023

    Bottling

    Then the honey goes into jars and bottles, corked and labeled as raw honey.

    Corked bottles of raw honey with the Honey Tree Orchard label
    Corked honey bottles lined up in the honey house

  9. The jars

    Sealed and ready to share

    Some jars get a wax seal, then they are packed in boxes and paired with our own gift bags.

    Honey jars with green wax seals packed in a box
    Honey jars with silver wax seals packed in a box
    Teal gift bags with the Honey Tree Orchard logo
    Rows of corked bottles of golden raw, strained honey