About us
We produce premium-quality raw honey on our hidden family farm.
The beautiful 22 acres of farmland owned by the Hartman family in Linden, North Carolina is where you’ll find dozens of beehives swarming with industrious honeybees in a field of wildflowers and clover. At Secret Garden Bees®, we proudly produce raw honey on our family farm, and our owner and founder, Jim Hartman, cares for our honeybees day in and day out, all year long.
After leaving his role in the Army as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer, Jim decided to put his land to good use and do something he was passionate about: becoming a full-time farmer and beekeeper. Our bees use the pollen and nectar produced by nearby wildflowers, fruit trees, nut trees, and berries growing on our farm to produce delicious raw honey with a dose of local goodness.
Our honeybee farm has grown substantially in just a few years. We started with just two hives, and today, we have more than 70. Wholesalers and suppliers prefer our raw honey because we never overheat it, and we filter it just enough to remove debris but keep the honey as pure as possible. Our unique glass jars also help – they help keep your honey fresh and full of natural benefits (and they are great to repurpose when you’re finished).
We are excited to watch our honeybees produce delicious honey that people can’t get enough of. And we’re thrilled to welcome you to our farm! For more information about our honey farm, or to place an order for raw honey, please contact us today.
Our mission
At Secret Garden Bees®
we're doing our part to help local farmers sustain their crops.
Bees are a vital part of the ecosystem and there aren’t nearly enough of them! How reliant are we on bees?
We provide those farms our bees, just to give our girls more variety to eat, and we keep the honey produced. We’ve found that the overall health of our bees is better if we can send some of our hives out to forage on these abundant blooms, leaving more forage at the home farm for the remainder to eat in the spring. It’s also really important to us to support other small farms who benefit from having additional pollinators on the property.
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
At Secret Garden Bees®, we’re doing our part to help local farmers sustain their
crops. Once the crops are growing and the bees are fat and happy, we bring the hives back to our family farm and harvest the delicious, fresh honey.
At Secret Garden Bees®, we’re doing our part to help local farmers sustain their
crops. Once the crops are growing and the bees are fat and happy, we bring the hives back to our family farm and harvest the delicious, fresh honey.
We provide those farms our bees, just to give our girls more variety to eat, and we keep the honey produced. We’ve found that the overall health of our bees is better if we can send some of our hives out to forage on these abundant blooms, leaving more forage at the home farm for the remainder to eat in the spring. It’s also really important to us to support other small farms who benefit from having additional pollinators on the property.
This arrangement provides value for both of our small local businesses!
It’s a win-win for everyone!
Accountability and Transparency
Local Impact
We proudly support our local ecosystem by nurturing healthy bee colonies with ethical, hands-on beekeeping. Every jar of honey helps sustain pollinators, protect biodiversity, and strengthen our surrounding community.
Eco-Friendly
From hive to jar, our process is gentle and natural—never overheated or over-filtered. We prioritize sustainable practices that protect the planet while preserving honey’s pure flavor, nutrients, and goodness.
Our Honey Farm
Purchase pure, raw honey straight from our honey farm.
There is nothing quite like fresh, homegrown flavor, and this is exactly what you get when you taste our raw, local honey. Our owner, founder, and beekeeper, Jim Hartman, started our honey farm after leaving the Army. As a disabled Army veteran, he discovered that caring for bees is a therapeutic practice for him, as well as a way to utilize existing land on his family farm and help local farmers pollinate their crops.
Our honey farm in Linden, North Carolina features 22 acres of beautiful farmland, and much of the area is dotted with fruit trees, nut trees, wildflowers, and fields of clover. Our honeybees collect pollen from these trees, plants, and flowers and use it to create the delicious honey so many have come to know and love.
Our honey farm in Linden, North Carolina features 22 acres of beautiful farmland, and much of the area is dotted with fruit trees, nut trees, wildflowers, and fields of clover. Our honeybees collect pollen from these trees, plants, and flowers and use it to create the delicious honey so many have come to know and love.
At Secret Garden Bees®, our honey farm has come a long way in a short period of time. We started with just two hives, but people love our honey so much, we’ve increased production to meet demand and now have now have more than 70 hives (and growing). Once we harvest the honey from these hives, we never overheat or over-filter it. This lets our honey retain its natural goodness and provide the health benefits people look for in raw honey.
When you purchase our pure, raw honey, you support our veteran- and family-owned honey farm. For more information about what makes our honey special, or to place an order or wholesale order, please contact us today.
