Bees to Blooms. Honey Farm Tour with Pollinator Walk at Botanic Gardens

Bees to Blooms brings together two uniquely Southern Highlands experiences for a relaxed day exploring the connection between bees, flowers, food and the landscape around us.

Beginning at Bowral Honey Farm and continuing at the Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens, the experience follows the story of pollination from the hive to the garden – and ultimately to our tables. Along the way there is plenty to taste, see and discover, with passionate local guides sharing their knowledge in two beautiful Bowral settings.

Your experience begins at Bowral Honey Farm, a working apiary located within the historic grounds of Retford Park. Wearing a beekeeper’s veil, you’ll head alongside the hives with your guide to observe the bees at work and learn about the remarkable life of a honey bee colony, from the queen and workers to honey production, seasonal changes and the vital role bees play as pollinators.

Back at the teaching area, you’ll see how a modern hive works before settling onto the terrace overlooking the lake for a guided tasting of six seasonal honeys. Just as wine reflects different grapes and regions, each honey tells the story of the flowers and landscape the bees have visited, with differences in colour, aroma, texture and flavour. The tasting is accompanied by a relaxed morning tea of freshly baked sourdough, tea and coffee.

Bowral Honey Farm grew from small-scale beekeeping and backyard experiences into a dedicated agritourism business, and today welcomes visitors to its apiary at Retford Park, a historic Southern Highlands property with a European history dating back to land grants in 1821 and later closely associated with philanthropist and arts patron James Fairfax.

From the Honey Farm, you’ll make your own way to the Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens, where a catered lunch box will be waiting for you. Find your own favourite picnic spot amongst the lawns and picnic shelters before joining one of the Gardens’ enthusiastic volunteers for a guided garden walk and pollinator talk. You’ll explore how flowering plants and pollinators depend on one another, discover plants particularly valuable to bees and other insects, and look more closely at the extraordinary diversity of a cool-climate garden through the seasons.

The Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens grew from a community vision first formed by a group of local enthusiasts in 1998. The present site was selected in 2009 and the project officially launched in 2010, with the Gardens developing as a community-funded 13.5-hectare botanic garden showcasing both native and exotic cool-climate plants, including four nationally registered plant collections.

Your day

11:00am Bowral Honey Farm, with the farm tour, bee and beekeeping talk, guided honey tasting and morning tea.

12:30pm (approx), you’ll then make the short journey in your own car to the Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens, where you’ll head to the Bunya Pavilion to collect your catered picnic box lunch and find a picnic spot in the Gardens.

1:00pm  Garden Tour,  meet back at the Bunya Pavilion, where your guided walking tour will begin. Discover the season’s beautiful blooms while learning more about pollination. Includes a visit to the Gardens’ plant nursery, which will be opened for you, with the opportunity to browse and purchase a plant of your own to take home.

The experience concludes at approximately 2:00pm.

Bees to Blooms is designed to be leisurely, delicious and informative – a chance to experience two wonderful Southern Highlands destinations while discovering the fascinating relationship between bees, blooms and the food we enjoy.

• Lunch consists of a catered individual box with sandwiches, a piece of fruit and sweet. You can let us know of any restrictions once booked.
• We need a minimum of 10x guests to proceed with this experience. We’ll be in touch a few days before the event if we haven’t hit minimum numbers.
• Bookings are available on selected Wednesday’s from 4th November 2026 and ending on 17th February 2027. Please click the link to view the tour calendar dates.

Bookings are Essential – Booking link here 

We can’t wait to welcome you!