The friendly Umber Skipper
Another cheerful Umber Skipper Poanes melane in the garden, this time perched on the top of a Chiapas flower stem. There are many of...
Ivory Banded Digger Bee - first featured star of Pollinator Week
All hail the mighty little Ivory Banded Digger Bee Anthophora urbana ! These solitary bees nest i the soil, often in flat, bare ground....
Last of the Pandora Poppies
Alas, the Pandora poppies Papaver rhoeas 'Pandora' are at the end of their blooming season. They are oh, so lovely, and actually quite...
Cabbage White on the Red Valerian
Cabbage Whites Pieris rapae are always a joy to observe as they flit through the garden, seemingly weightless. They were introduced to...
Navajo Fleabane is thriving
A few years ago I was extremely fortunate to find and purchase this rare plant, Erigeron concinnus Navajo Fleabane, from Annies Annuals...
Woolly Blue Curls are truly woolly
I love woolly bluecurls Trichostema lanatum. This California native evergreen is native to coastal scrub and chaparral from northern Baja...
Beautiful monarch butterfly
The first of the season to eclose! She started as an egg laid by her mother on one of our potted narrow-leaf milkweed plants. She then...
Sleeping Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee
The first sleeping bee observed in our garden this year! It was very breezy, cool and overcast most of the day, and this yellow-faced...
Here come the bees
Oh, how I love this time of year when many native and other bees arrive and find nectar sources in the garden! Now that the blackberry...
California Towhee and the India Walking Stick
The other evening I happened to glance out the kitchen window, noticing some movement on our walkway. A California Towhee was hard at...
