Bell heather grows on the open moorland above Carlingford Lough, above the treeline where the wind comes in off the lough. The bees work it for a few short weeks in late summer, and only when the weather and the colonies cooperate. Miss the window and there is no heather honey that year.
That short, weather-dependent season is why good Irish heather honey is scarce. It is the boldest thing Niamh makes: dark, aromatic and a little resinous, a honey for a cheese board or a spoon, not for hiding in a cup of tea.
