Category Archives: Wildlife in your garden

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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See more bee photos
 
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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.

Sustainable Solar Fountains for Wildlife Gardeners

When I create a garden haven for my clients and their beloved wildlife visitors, I also want to use sustainable practices. Adding a greater electric load to the planet feels out of sync with my sensibilities and values. Yet, wildlife need water, people are soothed by the presence of water, and birds are attracted to water’s tricking sounds and the bright sparkling reflections. One key ingredient to a successful wildlife garden is a water feature, preferably one with moving water.

Here’s a great article on what you need for a solar fountain for your garden…

http://bit.ly/HowToSolarFountains

More on this topic in future blogs…

Spring in my home garden

What a swirl of colors!  This is our garden’s third spring and it’s gorgeous.  I just uploaded 32 new photos of our garden including Coast sunflower, Western blue flax, Toyon, Lady bugs, Bees, Tidy Tips, Onions, Monkey flowers and more. All with botanical names and information. 

Here’s a tiny preview…

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See the spring bloom
See my Photo-guide to California native plants…

A native plant revolution!

It all started a few weeks ago when I saw a call to action on Twitter “Native Plant Lovers Unite!”  As things happen, on the same day I was reading a very good blog about native plants, Native Plant Wildlife Gardening. The author, Karyl, is in Georgia. Georgia?!?  Suddenly the lights went on! What the heck is happening in the rest of the country in regards to native plants?  Could there a native plant movement? If so, how close is this movement to being mainstream? All kinds of questions started swimming around in my brain. I got so excited that I started looking up native plant societies state by state.

Well the answers to my questions surprised me…
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April Preview

For all of you who relish diversity, my blog posts will follow in step.  The following posts are planned for April…

Our Queen

  • Native plant societies in the US ~ POSTED
  • Mainstreaming native plants… what are you doing for California native plant week?
  • The queen of bumblebees… you’ve seen her in your garden!
  • Part 1: Your personal tour of the Going Native Garden Tour
  • Dawn, a garden love story

I can’t wait!  ♥