“Alessandra and her bees” story was born in winter 2004/2005 . It was when she was pregnant of her second son and she was looking for something to undertake to be able to work close to her children. Her family farm had produced only hay and forage for years, so she and her husband Franco with the little Enea on his shoulders began to go around visiting fairs. Once, during one of this visit, Enea saw some small bees houses and began walking around and around them: they were really interesting! They stopped. A gentleman came to talk to them about bees. The thought crept into their mind: it began buzzing and buzzing always more. With some extremely elementary information plus a 80% of unconsciousness  plus a complete inexperience … The bees arrived in April: Paolo, from Bee-keeping centre, brought them and helped Alessandra all the season long as she couldn’t afford all the work alone, due to her status! The bees and Alessandra: it was love since that first spill into the beehive.

After the first year of management in a simple way, the real business was officially opened and courses and small town markets were attended and together with colleagues’ suggestions it was very useful in order to introduce the farm into business.

But what could be the name for such activity?

" Arrigoni bee-keeping “… it seemed too much and then it called back to a famous canned food Italian brand. Furthermore, the honey was made by bees and not by human!

Le Api di Alessandra (“ Alessandra’s bees ") that was exactly what the good bees could make of such and really appreciated honey. On the label of the honey pots there is written: the producer " Le Api di Alessandra” , that’s perfect!

Later on there was a massacre of the bees: it was awful for all the family. The beehives were completely empty … All together decided not only to buy new families, but to make something more for those poor and so helpful and important creatures for human life: in order to avoid their flying into contaminated fields again, Alessandra and her family became farmers … That was another great idea!.

Now the buzz of the bees is the background of all the other farm activities that Alessandra and her husband and Enea and Paride (he is 3 years old) manage together, and honey ends before January.

In 2009 they started the lavender growing. This story is similar to the bees one: the time they spent in thinking of doing it and do it was one! Departure at 5.00 a.m., Venzone direction, a small village at 15 kilometers from the border between Italy and Austria, in order to buy a variety of particularly selected True Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). That evening at 8 p.m. Alessandra and Franco were back home and unloaded the van of the 500 plants (people in Venzone are still thinking how they succeed in loading all them in it!).

How is the lavender grown? Early in the morning they go to remove some grass in the field and pour some water (only if needed): the small plants are attended as they were children and now they are three-times bigger and give a fantastic flowering even if they are still young and in spite of the fact that the argillaceous land where they grow is not favourable. The first harvest will be at the end of July: who wants to enjoy his stay working and helping the family is welcome!

In 2009 they started the cultivation of the " Zima di Firenze" saffron from the hills of Florence that was collected between last October and November, obtaining an excellent quality spice in terms of aroma and color: it cannot be compared to that we usually buy at the market.

 You are invited to come to visit us, in order to find again a time end in which it’s only up to nature to making it goes by! Anywhere it is like that, but far away from the country we can catch the weather aspects only so that we cannot understand the implication for plant and animal living creatures and especially for us, we all we are involved in the life of this planet.

These are Alessandra’s bees but actually it is Alessandra who is theirs: they claim her care otherwise they could die.

Alessandra is of the lavender otherwise it cannot grow and flower.

The saffron has its needs too, and even her children …

 As everybody we have to behave in the right way, as we think the world is ours but the reality is that we are of the world and we must take care of it. Who can say if it is good or not to have a fresh courgette on the table in December (only to say just one thing, probably it is the less important one!) but, please, I would ask you to verify with your hands and with your eyes and with your taste and with all your other senses… you can ask: how? Come to visit us in the good and right season: this is the answer!

Alessandra