All honey is not created equal. Taste and see the difference in honey produced in various seasons and landscapes in the latest installment of the LSU Hilltop Arboretum Art & Wellness series.

Chef Katherine Gividen will present “The Flavor of Flowers: A Guided Monofloral Honey Tasting Experience” on Saturday, June 6, from 2 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Where honeybees forage impacts the flavor, aroma, color and texture of the honey they make. Gividen has gathered varietals from honey producers across the United States.

Those available for tasting during the event include sage, sourwood, tupelo, orange blossom and buckwheat, as well as a local honey produced by the honeybee hives located on the grounds of Hilltop Arboretum.

Gividen is a beekeeper, naturalist, certified executive chef and former American Culinary Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Chef of the Year. She also currently serves as
president of the Louisiana Master Naturalist Association and the Louisiana Hiking Club. In 2018, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation recognized her as Conservationist of the Year for her work in conservation education across the state.

Drawing on her expertise, Gividen will offer a unique tasting experience of monofloral honeys while explaining how flower sources, climate and geography influence each honey’s unique characteristics. As a beekeeper, she will also provide insights into honeybee biology, pollination and how to utilize hive products, including beeswax.

The Flavor of Flowers program is part of the ongoing Art & Wellness series hosted by LSU Hilltop Arboretum, which invites the community to experience the landscape as a creative space and classroom. This series of sensory-based programs aims to connect horticulture, landscape design and the human experience.

This event requires advance registration. For more information, to purchase tickets, and see other upcoming events in the Arts & Wellness series, visit lsu.edu/hilltop.