Bird’s-eyes Gilia first blooms
Ah, one of my favorite California natives, the Bird’s-eyes Gilia Gilia tricolor. They are so lovely with lavender edged petals and bright, almost turquoise blue anthers. I originally purchased several of these plants as seedlings from Annies Annuals two years ago. They immediately became one of my favorites, so delicate with feathery leaves. When it is breezy, as it usually is where we live, these Gilias seem to gracefully dance. And bees are crazy for the nectar of these lov
What's for lunch?
It's so wonderful to see in the garden several plants blooming almost throughout the year, providing nourishment and habitat for the pollinators. My ultimate goal is to plant native plants that bloom during different seasons to guarantee food at all times, and so far we seem to have a promising start. The Ray Hartman ceanothus must be the easiest California shrub to grow. It never needs to be fertilized, is so drought tolerant that it doesn't need water in the summer and grow
Well hello there, honey bee
It was a dry and fairly sunny day today and some bees were out and about in the garden. For example this honey bee perched on top of a lavender flower spike, about to sip nectar from a flower. See its proboscis on the left side of its head.
Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee pollinating the Sunshine Blueberries
Between the rainstorms this yellow-faced bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii has been busy pollinating our sunshine blueberry blossoms. I couldn't get a good shot of the bee because it was constantly in motion, flying from blossom to blossom. You would think it wouldn't be so hard to get a better shot since these bumble bees are quite large, therefore slower than other bees. But you can still see how fuzzy these bees are from the yellow hairs on its face. After spending some time
The Angelica tomentosa returns
Look who's back! Last year I planted two Angelica tomentosa "Wooly Angelica" seedlings in one of the patio plant beds. I tended to them, watering carefully several times a week during the dry season. Alas, they perished. Early this month, one of them reappeared sprouting a tiny branch with leaves And this week a second little branch appeared. This is very exciting for me, because the Wooly Angelica is a native California habitat plant that attracts many kinds of beneficial na
Lavender is a great nectar source for the pollinators
If you want a guaranteed nectar source all year-round, plant lavender shrubs. Here is a honey bee feeding on nectar from one of our lavender shrubs in the front yard during a break between winter rainstorms. Note the orange pollen on its leg. Our lavender shrubs aren't very big, but as long I keep pruning dead branches and deadhead the spent flowers, the shrubs keep producing new flowers. The winter rains work wonders on these plants. There is so much new growth on them, and
Black Phoebe sitting on a crab apple branch
The Northern Black Phoebes visit our yard throughout the year. I like to observe them perched on a branch or TV cable above the front yard, scanning the area for insects. They chirp as they sit there, and quickly fly up in the air to catch insects. And then they land right back on the branch or TV cable, to scan again. They are plump, sparrow-sized birds, with large heads that have a slight peak to the rear of the crown. They are very dark gray, almost black, with white belli
Winter showers bring the flowers
We are currently experiencing a severe winter storm, a result of the atmospheric stream with its long moisture plume. While this weather wreaks havoc with flooding, high winds, and steady heavy rain, which sometimes pours down as if the sky is a giant bucket of water, we badly need the water. Of course it would be nice if we just had steady rain, not too heavy, for several weeks. But I just am so relieved that we are getting all of this rain. Last weekend I took the photo abo
Winter blooms on the Ray Hartman Ceanothus
It's so nice to see the Ray Hartman ceanothus shrub producing blossoms throughout the winter. When we lived at a lower elevation in Alameda County, our Ray Hartman ceanothus didn't bloom year-round, only from Spring through Fall. This ceanothus shrub has been blooming throughout the year, and gradually producing more and more blossoms. It is providing nectar for the pollinators, including hummingbirds and occasional bees. And the brown-eyed bushtits seem to be finding spiders
First ladybird of the year
Aha, the first ladybird I've seen this year! It is a seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata on the leaf of a Cream Cups Platystemon californicus leaf. I didn't realize until now, how hairy the leaves of this native plant actually are. What a nice place for a ladybird to be protected from the rain.
