There is Something Beyond the Straw Bale

...ilosophy has always been that vegetable gardens need to be surrounded by a native “hedge row” that supports beneficial wildlife. We’re also fans of hardy and climate appropriate perennial fruits and vegetables–beyond that solitary straw bale we have a lot of edible perennial plants and a bunch of work to do to straighten out the yard after years of other priorities. Site of future seasonal rain garden. Towards that end, our landscaper, Laramee Hay...

Read…

Lessons from the 2018 Theodore Payne Garden Tour

...nce at the stunning stunning Wilson/Leach garden in Altadena (seen above). Native plants gardens in Southern California don’t have to look like a desert! An ad in the back of the tour brochure neatly summed up the vibe: In: Architecture-Enhancing Designs Out: Boring Expanses of Lawn In: Vibrant Climate-Compatible Blooms Out: Stuffy Rows of Annuals In: Lush, Leafy Native Foliage Out: Heat-Amplifying Gravelscape In: Materials that Go with the Flow O...

Read…

Last Chance to Win Theodore Payne Garden Tour Tickets, A Note on Our Backyard and a Mini-Rant

...Plant Garden Tour ticket giveaway. We have slowly introduced more and more native plants into our garden for a few reasons: to reduce water use, to sustain wildlife and to reduce maintenance. On that last point I’ll note that there is no such thing as a zero maintenance garden, but I will say that California natives are, generally, a lot less fussy than annuals. This year we’ve also decided to hire a professional to come up with a design for our t...

Read…

Varroa Mites: No-Treatment is the Best Treatment

...ger colonies. Let’s first define what a “feral” bee is. Honey bees are not native to the Americas. They were, most likely, brought here by the Spanish. Since that introduction, some honey bees escaped tended apiaries and took up residence in forests and cities where they have lived, happily, for centuries without much human intervention. To clarify, when I say “feral” bees I mean untended honey bees (Apis mellifera) not any of the 4,000 species of...

Read…

Backyard and Backwards Beekeeping

...nciples-of-beekeeping-backwards.365763/ Xerces society: for information on native bees and how to provide habitat. https://www.xerces.org/ YouTube Backwards Beekeepers how-to videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL23D3FtWNSvrs1NDKjpDWolmVfDgcJTKX Books Save the Bees with Natural Backyard Hives: The Easy and Treatment-Free Way to Attract and Keep Healthy Bees by Rob and Chelsea McFarland The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Beekeeping...

Read…