Photo courtesy of Paul Garris.
Beekeeper Paul Garris
Paul Garris says beekeeping has taught him to balance the stresses of his busy work life.
On a good spring day, you can find Paul Garris standing over his hives in North Shelby County, suited up, veil down, quietly humming old church hymns while thousands of bees rise and fall in a soft, steady chorus.
“When I’m working those bees, I usually have some spiritual song in my head, and sometimes I’m humming that,” Garris said. “I like the old hymns … ‘How Great Thou Art,’ ‘Amazing Grace.’”
The bees don’t seem to mind. If anything, they’ve become partners in his prayer life.
Photo courtesy of Paul Garris.
Paul Garris and his son, Jacob
Paul Garris and his son, Jacob, took up beekeeping together. Eventually, younger son Jesse also took up the family hobby.
“These are something that God created that are so unique and beautiful,” he said. “It helps you really connect with nature. And in my personal view, if you’re connecting with nature, you’re connecting with God because God created it, and He is in it.”
Garris, who lives in the North Shelby County Hoover area, didn’t start out chasing that kind of connection. About 10 years ago, his oldest son, Jacob, talked him into trying beekeeping as a father‑son project.
“The more I got into it, the more interesting and challenging it became,” he said. “Every time you think you got them figured out, they teach you something new.”
The bees have reshaped more than Garris’ schedule.
“You learn to be patient and go with the flow with them, which is helpful to dealing with people, too,” he said. “I’m a doer person. I want to get things done. They taught me, hey, you’ve got to be patient. You got to go with the flow, and don’t just try to impose your will on them. I tried that early on. They made me pay for it.”
For the man behind Redemption Realty — his real estate business that specializes in properties that “need to be redeemed” — the bees have become another quiet lesson in what it means to heal, to be patient and to make something good again — one small act at a time.
The payoff shows up in small, sweet moments far from the bee yard — usually when a jar of his honey changes hands.
“It’s a great way to make friends, influence people, right?” Garris said with a laugh. “I get more from it personally — being able to bless a person that way.”
Photo courtesy of Paul Garris.
Garris' honey is bottled and sold as Greybeards Bees.
Garris bottles and shares his harvests as Greybeards Bees.
Kelley Frederick of the Shelby County Beekeepers Association said her organization is one of the fastest-growing in the state — a range of men and women from all backgrounds, as well as young adults, teens and kids. She said they all share an appreciation for the creatures. And that results in relationships far beyond “insects.”
“The bees themselves are like our family,” said Kelley, who judges major honey shows and teaches the SCBA’s seven-week beginner beekeeper class. “They’re like our pets, so to speak. We spend hours when we work our bees … there’s some solitude in that. And you know, it’s almost spiritual.”
The Shelby County Beekeepers Association meets the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Heardmont Park’s Senior Community Center, 5458 Cahaba Valley Road. More information is available at shelbycobeekeepers.wixsite.com/shelby-county-beekee.
