THE buzz in the air at Webbs, Wychbold, has yielded sweet success for the award-winning garden centre.

Earlier this year professional bee keeper Chris Broad established eight hives in the gardens there which has now provided 500 jars of exclusive Webbs’ honey.

Chris, who runs Saltway Honey with his wife Susan from Bromsgrove, set up the apiary which will yield two types of honey – a firm early one which has now gone on sale and a runny variety which will be ready soon.

This is the first time Webbs has introduced hives to the grounds and the firm is delighted to be able to stock its own honey on the shelves in the food hall.

Chairman Ed Webb said: “It’s fascinating to see how the nectar from our lovely gardens is turned by the bees into this delicious-tasting honey. The hives in the New Wave Garden have sparked a lot of interested from our visitors and I’m sure they will look forward to tasting the final result. We have stunning gardens full of a wide variety of plants here at Webbs and I’m sure the bees benefit from the rich nectar. "

Mr Broad, who has 300 hives across Bromsgrove, Droitwich and Feckenham, said: “Every batch of honey has its own character and flavour and the first harvest from the Webbs garden is a lovely smooth soft-set honey with a delicate floral taste and aroma."

The hives will house the Buckfast Bee, originally developed by the monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon. They are known for being gentle, productive bees and each hive normally produces enough to fill 100 jars of honey.”