Vendor Spotlight: Wildflowers Honey

Since 2012, Chuck Magri has been the owner and operator of Wildflowers Honey, located just on the south edge of St. Thomas. "I never wanted to have bees," Chuck said with a laugh. "I actually wanted to start a small agricultural business. . . I looked at a few different options, read some books, and decided to buy two colonies and see how it went. One died and one lived, and I ended up liking it and now it's grown to what it is today." Chuck now has 125 colonies (only a couple more than the two he started out with) spread out across St. Thomas and Elgin County, and he has been a staple fixture at the Horton Farmers' Market since becoming a vendor around 2016/2017. 

Obtaining honeybee hives may not be difficult, but it is hard to keep them going, and especially difficult to learn how to winterize honeybees in our chilly Southern Ontario winters. Luckily, the local bee keeping community is a fantastic source of support and information, and they were more than happy to share their insights, knowledge, and support with Chuck while Wildflowers Honey was starting out. "The internet is a bad source for information," Chuck advised. "Bee keeping is learned through experience based knowledge, not opinion based knowledge." Thankfully, local bee keepers like Clovermead and Heemans were happy to talk with Chuck and lend their experience and knowledge, in addition to Chuck taking on some educational classes and research on his own. 

Wildflowers Honey now has seven or eight breeds of honey bees spread across their 125 colonies; all managed by Chuck. In addition to maintaining the health of his hives, harvesting the honey and beeswax, packaging it and bringing it to Horton and other local markers, Chuck also runs beekeeping classes, makes beeswax candles (did you know that honeybees make 100 pounds of wax each year), sells bees, and offers swarm collection services within the St. Thomas and Elgin County area (making him almost as busy as his bees are). 

Wildflowers Honey is proud to offer unpasteurized, local honey from their own hives, along with local bee pollen from Clovermead and Heemans, and sometimes Chuck explores different products and flavour profiles by diffusing different herbs into his honey; such as creamed honey, chamomile lavender, cinnamon honey, and more. Offerings change from season to season and with waves of inspiration and suggestions, so be sure to stop by the Wildflowers Honey booth at Horton on Saturday mornings and talk with Chuck about how the season is going and what inspirations he may have for this years harvest! Unpasteurized honey, compared to pasteurized honey, is only slightly heated during processing, which helps the honey retain many of its nutritional properties. Unpasteurized honey, like Wildflowers Honey, retains its natural, beneficial enzymes and antioxidants. Unpasteurized honey is completely safe to eat, as unlike dairy products, pasteurizing honey isn't about food safety, but instead is mainly done to slow down the natural process of crystallization; when liquid honey starts to turn stiff and crunchy over time. Honey crystallization is a natural occurrence, and crystallized honey is still entirely safe to eat. Even pasteurized honey will eventually crystallize! "If you keep your honey above 20 degrees celcius it should stay liquid," Chuck explained. "When your honey starts to eventually crystallize, just put the bottle or glass jar in a hot water bath for a few minutes and stir. The honey will melt and become liquid again in no time." 

Wildflowers bee colonies are also spread across St. Thomas and Elgin County, which leads to different colours and tastes of honey. "We call it the Taste of Elgin sample pack," Chuck explained as the Horton Farmers' Market was coming to life in the early hours of a Saturday morning. "It features samples from our different [hive] yards. Nectar from various flowers can change the taste slightly or drastically, and it can even change the colour from white to amber or black." The Taste of Elgin sample pack is usually available around the holiday season, after the fall harvest, so keep your eyes peeled for more information on Wildflowers Honey socials about these beauties! 

To maintain the genetics of his bees, Chuck imports bees in, and also sells bees and 'nucs' (new colonies) to locals looking to try their hand at bee keeping. "The 'nucs' come with everything you need to raise a colony; bees, frames and a queen," Chuck explained. As for the stinging, Chuck said he hasn't been stung much yet this year. "You get stung more when you are taking honey and being more invasive." Harvesting honey takes time and is physically demanding, and if you want to help Chuck out he is often happy to bring in volunteers who are interested in learning more about honeybees and honey harvesting; just chat with him at Horton about it or reach out to him via Wildflowers Honey's Facebook or Instagram pages. 

Wildflowers Honey has been coming to the Horton Farmers' Market since roughly 2016/2017, and it has become a cherished part of Chuck's (very busy) weekly routine. "Horton helped get my business name out in the local communities and create relationships and connections with customers," Chuck said while catching up with many familiar faces during the Horton Saturday morning market. "I call it my Saturday morning social. I get a good mix of regulars and get new customers each year." Watching Chuck interact with vendors, customers, and market go-ers alike on any given Saturday morning speaks volumes to the connection and care Horton fosters in our community; from chatting with friends about life events, to providing product information to new customers, showing off hive photos and updates to interested regulars, and sharing honey with fellow vendors, Wildflowers embodies the unique spirit of the Horton Farmers' Market.

​We are truly lucky to have such incredible, hardworking, knowledgeable, and passionate farmers, artisans, and vendors like Chuck and Wildflowers Honey. So next time you are at Horton (and if it is this Saturday, June 21, 2025 for Pollinator Week, Chuck will have his hardworking bees with him), stop by the Wildflowers Honey booth, say hello to Chuck and try some delicious local honey, see if he has any bee pollen or flavoured honeys available, or grab a hand-poured beeswax candle. (Fun fact: Chuck is also a talented musician; and sometimes during Winter at Horton you can catch him providing some great live tunes!)​

Paige Palmer, Marketing Assistant

Paige is a proud recent graduate of Western University's Media and Communications (MACS) program and King's University College's Thanatology program. Born and raised in Elgin County, Paige loves connecting with local people and businesses to tell their stories and promote their hard work. A previous St. Thomas Parks and Forestry summer student, Paige also loves exploring local parks and trails, and promoting the incredible work of the Parks and Forestry department, while capturing some beautiful pictures along the way. ​