Leave the leaves for birds and insects
Remember that some birds need leaves and twigs for summer nesting. Many beneficial insects also need fallen leaves. Read more here:...
California poppies and asters in bloom
Growing in a corner of our front yard is a lovely patch of California poppies Eschscholzia californica, California coastal poppies...
Leaf cutting bees handiwork
There must be some leaf cutting bee Megachilidae nests near by, judging from all of the circular cutouts in these leaves. You can see...
One of our first Monarch caterpillars this year
Here is one of several Monarch caterpillars currently munching on our milkweed. This one is on the leaf of a native Showy milkweed. The...
Butterflies visiting the garden
It's so wonderful to see the Navajo fleabane flourishing again in spite of insufficient winter and spring rains. It's even better when...
Most native bees nest in the ground
Whenever you have the opportunity, teach people about your native bees. https://blog.nature.org/science/2019/08/19/focus-on-native-bees-n...
Some plants that actually thrive in clay soil
As I mention in my posts, the soil in our yard is hard-pan clay. This makes it very challenging to have plants that actually flourish in...
Mona Caron's Joe Pye Weed Mural
Swiss-born artist Mona Caron creates beautiful, giant murals on buildings. This is her Joe Pye weed mural, titled Shauquethqueat's...
It's World Bee Day!
In honor of our hardworking bees, here are some that are busy in our garden all day long. In the photo above, one of our many...
