Gardeners have a very important role in the conservation and future of ecosystems and species
A must read! Let Douglas Tallamy inspire you to be part of the change! Read more here https://vnps.org/book-review-natures-best-hope-by-doug-tallamy/
Buckeye Butterflies
I used to just rarely see Buckeye butterflies in our garden. Now, happily, I'm seeing several of them daily. Here is one that visited our buckwheat patch yesterday. It is perched on a native Seacliff buckwheat Eriogonum parvifolium flowerhead. Red buckwheat Eriogonum rubescens is growing next to the Seacliff buckwheat. This one was "puddling" in a gravel and dirt walkway in our backyard. I had watered that morning some potted plants growing along the walkway. Puddling is what
A bee fly visits
At first glance from a distance, many bees look very similar. And this goes for bee flies, as well. But when you look closer, you can tell these are not bees. At first I thought this was a honey bee. But then the body looked to large, it has two wings instead of four, the antennae are very short, the eyes are huge like those of many flies. And the legs are very long and skinny. Bee flies are very efficient pollinators. However, they are also parasites. The female bee fly hove
Bats are essential
Source: Leaf of Life
Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee?
This bumble bee was visiting our native buckwheat patch several days ago. From a distance I thought it was a Yellow-Faced bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii As I took these photos, zooming in I realized that the bee actually looked different in marking and coloring. The Bombus vosnesenskii normally would be completely black with yellow face and a yellow stripe near its tail. This bee has brown and black stripes. After referring to my bee "bible" 'California Bees & Blooms' by Gord
Refreshing Rhubarb and Strawberry Galette
Last week I started to think about rhubarb, and felt inspired to bake a rhubarb and strawberry galette if rhubarb was available at our local natural grocery store. Luckily rhubarb was available, and the strawberries are already in season. This is a very simple recipe, and the only part that takes a little effort and time is the dough. The recipe is a combination of two galette recipes from the San Francisco Chronicle, and serves 8. For tart dough: 2 cups of unbleached white f
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: https://xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves?fbclid=IwAR1eVp3xAwUTcp5F3oA5SDiR-PPW90Q1SiB04lUKt__BiXLx2yrozPNl5bM
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 Eschscholzia californica var. maritima and Pacific (or California asters) Symphyotrichum chilense. I'm so happy to see the asters doing well. One of my neighbors was thinning out his aster patch last fall and gave me two cuttings of the plant. The Pacific aster is an important nectar plant for monarch butterflies, as well as for other butterflies
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 large and small circular cutouts along the edges of some of the leaves. It's always a great, healthy sign to see this occurring in the garden, because it means the leaf cutting bees are busy. The leaf cutting females are solitary and construct nests in tubular cavities such as hollow stems and burrows in the ground. They neatly cut circular pie
