A COLOURFUL month-long celebration for November to raise awareness of bees, flowers and food kicked off at the Beechworth Honey Shop last Friday.

In its second year Beechworth Honey launched ‘Pollinate’ with a spectacular flower showcase around the store while around 60 guests took part in a welcome bee-inspired breakfast too.

Fruits pollinated by bees such as blueberries and strawberries had been used for the breakfast with sparkling honey drinks with bee inspired ingredients available for tasting throughout November as well.

Beechworth Honey director Jodie Goldsworthy said behind the project had been an amazing Beechworth Honey team effort as well as with her family members.

The director said four florists took up a challenge set for the local florist community to interpret the theme of pollinate.

“We decided to do ‘Pollinate’ to celebrate Australian Pollinator Week, which is at the end of November, but we wanted to extend it for the whole month to celebrate bees, food and flowers,” she said.

“We wanted to make something really beautiful that made people stop and really think about the vital role that bees play in in a healthy ecosystem and in our food systems as well.”

Ms Goldsworthy said collaboration took place with florists Thistle and Fern from Albury Wodonga, Noble Flowers, and Juniper and Stone both from Yackandandah as well as Flowers by Lindy from King Valley.

“The florists source a lot of their flowers locally as well,” she said.

A stunning creative design for the door entry had been undertaken by the Beechworth Honey team.

“We used old bee boxes too as we wanted that doorway to be the entry to what people wouldn't necessarily expect to see in a little store here in Beechworth,” Ms Goldsworthy said.

Juniper and Stone’s Jenn Wright said it had been an honour to be included by such a wonderful local name as Beechworth Honey.

“In terms of environmental awareness with ‘Pollinate,’ it ripples throughout our community and further afield,” she said,

Ms Wright said she was delighted to bring her artistic craft through floristry into Beechworth Honey’s space to be part of such a great event.

“It's really important for many industries including floristry and everything within our environmental ecosystem as we wouldn't exist without the beautiful work that bees do,” she said.