Page 26 - At Home Prince Edward County

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B BEESS -- WWIINNE - LAVVEENNDERR
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By Janet Davies • Photos by Peggy deWitt
There is a new lavender farm (2018) in the County.
Where there is lavender there are bees. Where there are bees
there’s honey, and – in this case – honey wine too!
ilma Vreeswijk and Sylvain fruit and wine, crafts and agritourism.
Segard of Millefleurs are commit- They knew the County from their
Wted to sustainability, to good food younger days and retired here to be close
and good wine. So it’s no surprise they to family in Ottawa, Kingston and
ended up here in Prince Edward County. Montreal. They bought land in late 2015
They are biologists and former public and the next summer lived in a trailer,
servants, he is a sommelier, winemaker bushwhacked their way to the lake and
and distiller and Wilma is the chief gar- pondered how best to use the land. They
dener and grower and an apprentice pot- settled on growing lavender and raising
ter, too! For recently retired people, they bees. Sylvain wanted to make wine, but he
are pretty darned busy. didn’t want a vineyard. He would use his
“That’s why they call it reTIRED,” says honey.
Sylvain with a laugh. “You were tired By 2018 the lavender field was in, the bee
when you were employed, then you get colonies were begun and government
REtired.” regulations were coming into play. Wine-
They grow lavender and many other makers must have five acres of vines to call
kinds of flowers on their waterfront land themselves an estate winery, meadmakers
just west of Wellington. The place is easy to must have at least 100 hives. “I don’t know
spot with its three-storey drying tower who decided that,” says Sylvain, “but it
close to the road. wasn’t someone who keeps bees!” It’s a lot
The name Millefleurs is French and has to manage and so many colonies in a lim-
several meanings. The most literal is “one ited location would diminish the yield, so
thousand flowers,” but it’s also a term for Sylvain keeps a few hives at Millefleurs
floral backgrounds in Rennaisance and has dozens more in five locations in
tapestries and Sylvain deftly makes a con- Hillier.
nection. “We would like to be Renaissance To avoid clashes between visitors and
people, not limited to one thing, but with bees, Sylvain moved the “house hives”
many skills and interests.” They want their from their original location by the property
business to be a tapestry of bees, flowers, line hedgerow to the garden of their

26 @HOME CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION & GARDENING DIRECTORY