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Of Bees & Blossoms
In the apple orchards at over 1,000 metres above sea level, it happens a little later and a little more slowly than in the warm valley sun. But it happens. Within a few days, the buds of the different apple varieties burst open. I have experienced this my whole life, yet it is always a moving spectacle.
One that I observe closely. I greet the new blossoms, pure white, with delicate pink edges, slightly streaked, and the red blossoms of the Rouge variety. Some are small with round, sturdy petals, others are elongated and more delicate. Easy to tell which variety a blossom belongs to.
Global climate in the orchard
Growing apples on the mountain means I have long been deeply engaged with weather and climate. The conditions up here are different from the valley.
In recent years, cold winds have been troubling us more and more often – something that used to be very rare. I believe these are signs of a changing climate.
Bees at work
When the trees are in full bloom, we welcome our regular guests. A beekeeper friend brings the hives, and the honeybees begin their invaluable "work" – from which everyone benefits: they collect nectar from the blossoms and take pollen with them. They transfer it to the pistil and stigma of the next blossom – et voila! The seed of an apple has been planted.
During this phase too, I keep a close eye on the weather. Bees only fly once the temperature reaches 10 degrees. If it is colder, it takes longer for them to harvest and pollinate tree by tree.
Industrious, social, loyal
Honeybees demonstrate what efficient work means. When a bee discovers a flowering tree, she informs her colleagues in the hive. She does this with the so-called bee dance. When the bees are done with one tree, the next one is up.
Honeybees like ours visit about 300 blossoms a day. Fun fact: it takes three to five million blossoms to produce one kilogram of honey.
Besides being industrious, bees are also loyal: they work through all the trees of one variety before moving on to the next.
Company in the apple orchard
Apple trees need bees in order to bear fruit. The bees are like famous star guests: they come, stay a while, and then travel on. Many other insects and animals are permanent guests in the apple orchard, doing our trees good. It is a complex system that works together and ultimately produces these precious fruits.
