Imkerij Wilgenroosje

Imkerij Wilgenroosje is a hobby beekeeping business in Vleuten, run by two qualified beekeepers since 2010, which sells honey, propolis and beeswax from its own colonies.

The hives stand at five locations: three in Vleuten, including the Maximapark and its Vlinderhof garden and an orchard, one in Harmelen and one in the Voedselbos Haarzuilens food forest. The bees stay in the same place all year rather than being moved to heather or other crops in flower, so all the honey comes from plants around Utrecht. Only part of the honey is taken, which leaves the bees some of their own honey to overwinter on, and they keep the local bee rather than imported breeds. Nothing is added to the honey and it isn't heated unnecessarily during extraction. There is spring honey from apple, pear, willow, hawthorn and dandelion, summer honey from lime, bramble and clover, and a honey from the colonies in the Vlinderhof; they also sell pure propolis, propolis tincture and salves, and candles poured from their own wax.

Products can only be collected from their house on the Wilgenrooslaan in Vleuten after calling or using the contact form on their website; there is no postal delivery, and payment is in cash or by Tikkie, not by card.

Both beekeepers are trained honey judges, and one teaches the basic beekeeping course of the Utrecht beekeepers' association.