Kelley Edkins: Beekeeper, Master Herbalist and Gardener

I have been cultivating food for our honeybees in the Catskill Mountains since 1999, starting my business, “Gardens by Kelley” I built, designed and maintained gardens for over 200 clients focusing on medicinal, pollinator plants and natural dry lay stonework. The plants in my gardens became food for our pollinators and medicine for my family and friends.
In 2004 I began my herbal studies and became a student of great experts and teachers like Dina Falconi, Andrea Reisen and Rosemary Gladstar. diving deeper into the herbal world I began to educate myself and found that the honeybees were enjoying the weeds and not the ornamental plants,which lead me to study bee keeping with beekeepers like Jim Kyle and Chris Harp.
In 2008 I finally got my first hive as a community garden project called the Bee Green Community Garden. We received land from the Town of Fallsburg and I built a beautiful garden on what started as a parking lot. There was no soil so I got creative and started collecting compost from stores, institutions, community members and schools. The garden was put on the Cornell waste Management Compost map, where Wal-Mart found us and started dumping 10,000 pounds of food waste per week for 2 years. My Compost Crusade started and everyone caught the buzz. The Bee Green Garden was an inspiration for many, including The Sullivan County Community College where I helped them design and consulted the students on building their own.
In 2009 we received the environmental impact award from The Sullivan Renaissance.
In 2014 I started Honeybee herbs. A small tea and honeybee produce company. I formulate healing salves, tinctures and teas . Hand harvesting herbs, roots and flowers from my gardens, solar drying and formulating into medicinal tea blends. I took a cue from my honeybees who harvest only what they need from the flowers. In 2016 I moved my operation to Delaware County and focused on building my own honeybee farm and herb farm. In 2018. I opened my brick and mortar shop in Margaretville N.Y. where I create all of our healing honeybee products. Our farm is located in the beautiful Dry Brook Valleywhere cultivate food for our bees, community and wild animals.