It's not just
grapes flowering at the end of May. The lime trees
Tilia sp (aka Linden, or in French,
tilleul) were covered in flowers and humming with insect activity.
A large lime tree in full flower.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L2la2ADp-KOgVqMkV3S8cLeFvshvogXsKfiL_vCvruNQ2nzeBI5CBgenM91sVmWZFVO9rQQJm94yv8gMIrWUhMAAHoFl3QYZgRcfGGuWvBO1KZQPaVNV8Cg8pk3OhzCXppOSJg/s400/tilleul.jpg)
Honey bees and all sorts of other insects love lime flowers. They must be incredibly rich in nectar, and with the drought, not much else was around at the time.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitI-b6IKw_-2ymRT9JdNx91zfTDQnm1DnwgWFrWe3C7VDNpN18rCpR_AFms73IyVuJJuTy3H0MKTTiLTrZyeuZhIqH2WDTu4f_NFLgLjvbHXabPiDsaRx7SfLpqdwZensWJ4NDcg/s400/tilleul+bee.jpg)
I seem to remember reading recently that
miel de tilleul (lime tree honey) is particularly prized. I was interested that one of our local apiarists had
miel de tilleul on the shelves of the excellent Vival mini supermarket in town before the trees had even finished flowering. I bought a jar to try it, as I don't recall ever having had it before. I like strongly flavoured honey, usually buying
chataigner (chestnut) honey from the same apiarist. The lime is a very pleasant and flavourful honey, like a somewhat milder version of the chestnut, with slightly less of that bitter edge that makes chestnut so distinctive. It was a little bit expensive, at €3.90 for this small jar, so I think it might remain a once a year treat.
Locally produced lime honey.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw87zmcZbGvnBOGqLK-UTCXcudyyUhqjNAcruIcQC-x-xSsj-BQAHgcTnWPEGYKV-IhnmGk-W7-JRfkXJmQ7CH1wz89-11Ljj9PP5Dh0D2hcWc8VuV8RJyhkhubPQPJsLJRr0poA/s400/tilleul+honey.jpg)
Susan
2 comments:
It's amazing to stand under a tree that's buzzing so much it sounds about to lift off entirely. I'll have to look out for miel de Tilleul, I find miel de Chataigne a bit too strong for my taste so it sounds ideal. I like miel de Ronce (bramble) best, but I haven't seen any for ages. We've been told that a number of local apiarists have given up, faced not just with dying bees but with thefts of hives.
PG - do you realise that the tree in the photo is yours? Some very interesting new research into CCD has come out just in the last few weeks - looks like it's a combination of a bacteria, a virus and triggered by a stress such as adverse weather. People have had their suspicions for a while, but it has taken time to gather the empirical evidence. BTW, did you know that globally, honey bee numbers have never been higher and are increasing?
Post a Comment