We love them, we fear them, and some of us obsessively hover over them as we wonder if we're caring for them properly. Meanwhile, out in the wild native plants - in our case, California native plants - manage to establish themselves without any human intervention. What gives? What can we do to …
Appreciating Our Natural World – now that we have more free time…
Gardens and the nature surrounding us certainly offers benefits to being stuck at home during this crazy coronavirus crisis. After all, our natural world proceeds as if nothing has happened. Birds have fledged and are discovering our natives. Butterflies are migrating through and tiny lizards …
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Habitat Gardening (Part 2): Butterflies, Moths, Flies and Favorite Plants
My last article on habitat gardening introduced some basics and exciting things I learned about beneficial insects in gardens. This was after attending an all-day Habitat Gardening workshop given by Frederique Lavoipierre, Director of Education at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. This column …
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Tapping Beneficial Insects to Combat Pests (Including the Asian Citrus Psyllid)
Add plant diversity to your gardens. Also make sure you have flowering plants year-round. Those are key recommendations of ecologists for enlisting natural predators to combat pests in our garden and orchards. These tips can even help ward off pests such as the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), which …
My, What Rains Bring to the Desert in Spring – Anza Borrego
We've had 17 inches of rain in our inland Southern California city this rainy season. That's a lot for us. Our nearby deserts have received about half that. Along with pleasant temps, this translates into stunning wildflower and cactus flower displays which began in February. For locals, it's not …
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Great Hikes: Steep but Satisfying Frankish Peak (Upland CA)
Note: I've started a new category "Great Hikes" which features especially good hiking experiences in native habitat and wildlife (for now in Southern CA.) I tend to prefer hikes where I have the place to myself. Frankish Peak north of Upland CA satisfies that need, and a recent May late afternoon …
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