Category Archives: Special Events

Love your honey… bee that is!

Celebrate National Honeybee Day, August 20th

Honeybee on Prickly Poppy

 
That lovely honeybee isn’t just another pretty face… she works for a living, providing important services to humans and the ecosystem.  Honeybees are solely responsible for pollinating more than a third of our daily food supply.  Most people have heard about the honeybee crisis, but the honeybees aren’t the only ones in trouble these days. Pollinators including butterflies, native bees, and other beneficial insects are all in decline. But… there are little things–little pleasurable things–you can do to help. Even the smallest home garden can play a big role in the effort… and supporting larger scale efforts–like public gardens such as Tilden Park and the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, and agricultural projects like the California Agricultural Pollinator Project–is another way we can make a difference.
 
Take a minute today to celebrate the honeybee… she’s done a lot for us. 

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The above photo of a honeybee on Prickly Poppy, Argemone munita, was taken at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, spring 2006, on a photo-shoot with my hubby.

How will you celebrate California native plant week?

I’m taking a bouquet of native flowers to Foothill College – what are your plans?

Native plant enthusiasts are cheering!  In September 2010, the California State Assembly and Senate approved Resolution ACR 173 establishing California Native Plant Week, beginning this year April 17-23. 

It’s a good sign that sustainability is catching on when the state assembly and the senate agree… California native plants in the wilds, in gardens and in landscapes have a huge positive impact on our watersheds, on curbing catastrophic wildfires, and on creating and restoring wildlife habitat.  They also agree that residential water use can be cut between 60 and 90% simply by replacing conventional landscape plants with California native plants. That’s a huge water savings!

So whether you are currently an enthusiast or just curious about all the excitement, I encourage you to participate in some of the activities planned throughout our beautiful state. 

What am I doing for California native plant week?  I’ll be taking a bouquet of flowers to Foothill College – a simple gesture – I’ll be attending Dee Wong’s talk at the Hidden Villa CNPS Plant Sale, and I’ve already chosen the gardens I’ll visit on the Going Native Garden Tour in Santa Clara Valley.  Although not technically during native plant week, on May 1st I’ll be at the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour in the East Bay. 

I hope to see you there! 

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