Martha Kearney's year gets off to a bad start when unseasonal snow in spring threatens to kill the bee colonies she keeps in her garden in Suffolk. With help from a master beekeeper Martha feeds her bees and takes one of the hives to a wildflower meadow at a neighbour's house along with two brand new hives. She discovers the intricate hierarchy within the bee colony and learns how the organisation of the hive has become a metaphor for human society. At a London school she learns the secrets of urban bees' success even while bees in the country as a whole are in decline. The episode ends with three new hives established on a wildflower meadow, ready to start producing classic British wildflower honey.
Martha discovers a bee with deformed wing virus in one of the hives she has set up on a Suffolk wildflower meadow. With the help of a master beekeeper, she treats the hive for verroa mite. Britain's leading bee scientist explains the role of verroa in the decline of bees throughout the country. As spring arrives, Martha witnesses the growth of the colony and watches as bee larvae hatch out. She investigates the science behind the decline of the honey bee and examines evidence that pesticides may be to blame. Back at her cottage, she tackles a colony of angry bees by replacing their queen with a more mild-mannered individual ordered online and delivered through the post, and she meets the Archbishop of Canterbury to talk about his family's love of beekeeping and why he told the bees about his girlfriends.
Spring has well and truly sprung and the bee hives are going from strength to strength. But that brings with it a problem – the swarm. As the colonies become overcrowded, the bees become likely to depart in a swarm with the queen, leaving just a few bees behind to rear a new queen. It’s a natural process, but for the beekeeper it can be a disaster, leaving the beehive all but empty and little prospect of a harvest of honey.
Martha enjoys the English countryside at its best, offers her honey to the public at a village fair and succeeds finally in harvesting the true wildflower honey she set out to achieve. At the height of summer the owners of the meadow have invited the public to an open day to celebrate this unique bit of countryside. The pressure is on Martha to get the honey ready in time. With a late spring the meadow flowers are late opening and the bees are still foraging on a neighbouring farmer’s crops when the day arrives.
