Learning to See the Beauty of Nature in Our Gardens
After my stay in Butterfly Town near Monterey Bay, my travels took me to the High Desert, to Joshua Tree National Park, located Southeast of Los Angeles. Going from the sea to the desert, I felt like a lizard warming up. No fog here; no gray clouds. Sunshine & breezes greeted me instead. I was [...]
I wake to the sound of a toad, quietly bleating from the lagoon behind me, then ducks chime in, calling out noisily until toad is all but drowned out. The air smells of moisture from overnight rain. It smells clean from the ocean, and full of life from all the plants and animals here. I [...]
Happy Thanksgiving! The gardens of Central Florida are taking on the look of autumn as our overnight temperatures occasionally plunge into the 40s(F). As a native New Yorker, this pleases me, since I do miss the autumn of the northeast. Florida Fall, however, has its own advantages and I’m quite thankful for all it provides. [...]
May is underway, the month that is the bridge between Spring & Summer. In the Santa Monica Mountains, it is a month of vibrant color. The hillsides are bejeweled in blooms of yellow, orange, pink, white, purple & blue. Flowers are strewn from here to there, seemingly at random, as if at the whim [...]
“Lone and erect, beneath light’s primal flood, A lily! and pure as any one of you.” - Mallarme One of the most beautiful sights for me in spring, is driving the highways and back roads to work through rural areas and catching a glimpse of a sea of white beneath the just budding trees. I [...]
Spring Wildflowers-Part 2 Last week we looked at some of the early spring wildflowers that can be found in the moist woods throughout the United States and Canada. Many of these wildflowers are known for their beautiful flowers. And then there are the unusual wildflowers, those whose flowers are not always the highlight of the [...]
Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow everyone. Carole Brown has graciously asked if I would like to write weekly for BWG. My answer….Heck yes! So you will see me every Tuesday sharing many of my favorite native plants and critters from my now zone 5b garden in central New York. Spring is rapidly approaching, and the first [...]
I’m still here…you’re stuck with me! On Oct. 8, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Proclamation 3071. It informs us that on June 4, 1926, Congress passed a resolution that Americans should observe the anniversary of the end of World War I, Nov. 11, 1918, with appropriate ceremonies. In 1938, Congress made Nov. 11 a [...]
I am Manzanita, a chaparral bush in Southern California. I can sense that fire is coming.. I have lived here without fire for over 30 years. I yearn to burn and make new growth! Smoke is in the air.. Soon fire beetles will flock to me from far away to mate on my branches as [...]
What is your reaction to the above photo? Do you want to run to the store for some chemicals to get rid of the weed in the lawn? Or are you charmed by a native wildflower? I shudder at the first reaction, which I fear is the all too common one after decades of propaganda [...]
News from Team Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens
