Behold the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata)

July 13, 2009

Pests

...he GWS is an interloper from the Southeast US and is much more mobile. The native varieties tend to hang out in riparian areas while the GWS enjoys jumping around backyards, citrus groves and vineyards, spreading a host of nasty plant diseases including almond leaf scorch and Citrus Variegated Chlorosis. The GWS is also responsible for spreading oleander leaf scorch. Astonishingly, 20% of home gardens in California contain oleander and 2,000 miles...

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Rats

Mr. Homegrown

November 30, 2006

Pests

...mice and rats, but unfortunately those same cats are also good at catching native birds. Now if we weren’t in enough trouble for advocating bad-ass rat traps, we’ll get in even more trouble for suggesting that folks keep their cats indoors. Indoor cats will catch the rodents, they won’t kill the native wildlife and they’ll live longer by not getting hit by cars. We would have a cat ourselves if it weren’t for our doberman who would, unfortunately,...

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Looking for Tough, Drought Tolerant Plants?

Mr. Homegrown

August 21, 2014

Garden Design, Gardening

2 Comments

...ities in the garden. Many of them are California native plants and support native birds and insects. Most All-Star plants can be successfully planted and grown throughout California. The list consists of plants that the UC Davis Arboretum has proven to thrive in our Mediterranean climate. They also look good year round. Most are drought tolerant, low maintenance and attract beneficial wildlife. Not all are native, but that’s not an issue for us he...

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We are all gardeners

Mrs. Homegrown

April 2, 2015

Back to the Garden, Gardening, Thoughtstylings

13 Comments

...unds very much what Anderson describes in Tending the Wild. I’m not saying Native practice was perfect all over the world for all time, that they never made mistakes or got greedy, but I will hold on to a vision of humankind returning to a respectful, reciprocal relationship with the rest of life after a long, destructive period of exile. We can do this by becoming conscious gardeners, Edenic gardners. I know we can do it because evidence says we’...

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So Cal Alert: Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer

Mrs. Homegrown

June 15, 2015

Fruit Trees, Gardening, Insects, Trees

10 Comments

...treating our own trees to prevent further loss. We don’t want to lose our native trees to this. We don’t want to see this disease spread to the rest of the country. Polyphagus means “eats everything” and accordingly this beetle doesn’t seem all that picky about which trees it infests. The following list (via UC Riverside’s Eskalen Labs) of know hosts keeps growing: Known Suitable Reproductive Host Trees: 1. Box elder (Acer negundo)* 2. Big leaf m...

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