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Posts Tagged: pollinator garden
Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought
Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
Our Buddies in the Garden
When you venture into your pollinator garden, look for the beauty, color, diversity and the intensity that surrounds you. You will be astounded. A honey bee nectaring on lavender in a soft-pastel scenario. A katydid nymph crawling (backlit) on a...
A honey bee nectars on lavender in a Vacaville garden. The soft pastel colors almost resemble a painting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A katydid nymph crawls on a blanketflower, Gaillaria. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, nectaring on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a Cosmo and looking for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Goodbye! A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, exits a lavender patch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Decisions, Decisions: Solar Eclipse or a Bumble Bee?
What insects did you see during the Solar Eclipse, dubbed "The Great North American Eclipse?" And what were they doing? In some parts of North America, as the moon passed between the earth and sun, folks saw a total solar eclipse. But here in...
A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch vs. Honey Bee: 'Nectar for Me, None for You'
The monarch migration is well underway. The iconic butterflies fluttering into California from the Pacific Northwest engage in "nectar stops" to fuel their flight to their overwintering sites along coastal California. They are not the only ones seeking...
A migrating monarch butterfly finds nectar in a zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee wants nectar, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee buzzes the wings of the monarch hoping it will leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch takes the hint. A bee wants that nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
And Just Like That, A Monarch Fluttered into Our Garden
And just like that, a female monarch butterfly fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden this morning, Aug. 10, and left a dozen or so calling cards: precious eggs. We earlier saw a male monarch patrolling the garden on the morning of...
A female monarch flutters into a Vacaville garden on Aug. 10 and checks out the narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch heads for another milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch investigates a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tiny monarch egg clings to the underside of a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
