Optimal Bee House Layouts
One of the most profitable money making strategies in Stardew Valley involves making bee houses from maple syrup and planting flowers near them.
Note: Bee houses will not produce honey indoors, this includes the greenhouse. Do not place bee houses inside!
The simplest solution isn't the most efficient but it's by the far the best option for beginners with farming honey. It requires 8 flowers, 1 quality sprinkler, 1 scarecrow, and up to 47 bee houses.
A more complex (and much more efficient layout) involves using an iridium sprinkler, 18 flowers, 2 scarecrows, and up to 102 bee houses. This will take a ton of time to put together but gives you an opportunity to make a ton of cash.
If you're on the default farm, my favorite layout is the screenshot below; it's a slightly modified version of the previously mentioned layout to fit perfectly in the space to the left of the greenhouse, near Grandpa's Shrine. Build 2 scarecrows, 2 iridium sprinklers, 48 flowers, and 150 bee houses.
The most efficient bee house layout doesn't take advantage any sprinklers (by definition) and can scale up diagonally as large as you'd like. I don't recomment this layout but included it for completeness. Plant one flower in the center (water it every day) and surround it with 42 bee houses.
The Best Flowers
Wild Honey is created by bee houses every 6,100 minutes (roughly every 4 days), it's base value is 100 gold.
- Spring: Blue Jazz (200g, 100% increase)
- Summer: Poppy (380g, 280% increase)
- Fall: Fairy Rose (680g, 580% increase)
If multiple flowers are planted in the area, the nearest flower to the bee house will determine the type of honey produced by the bee house.