Garden Wisdom Blog

All butterflies (including moths), as well as a wide range of bees, flies, beetles, and even hummingbirds, will feed on the nectar-heavy flowers of all milkweed varieties. The Monarch, however, seeks milkweed out on which to lay her eggs. Monarch caterpillars require milkweed to feed on prior to pupating, and they tend not to thrive when presented with alternative food sources. Planting milkweed is thought to be the number one step North American gardeners can do to help the endangered Monarch.

What the heck is xeriscaping? Simply put, xeriscaping is a system of landscaping with water conservation as the priority. In areas that receive little rainfall in the summer, some thoughtful xeriscaping will allow flowering plants to thrive, adding visual appeal – as well as important forage for pollinators. While most communities have watering restrictions in the summer, places like the Gulf Islands are restricted to well water - which makes it a seriously valuable commodity. There are five principles that are key to xeriscaping success: Plant selection is fundamental to xeriscaping because different plants have different needs when it comes...

Most of the vegetables we eat on a regular basis are cultivated adaptations from some older source. A good example is broccoli, which is the very same species of plant as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, and kohlrabi. All of these were bred over time from a common ancestor. The modern tomato, even in its various heirloom forms, is highly developed through generations of breeding from its original wild form. Plant breeding is in no way a bad thing — rather, it has given us a wealth of variety from a handful of sources. There are a minimum of 296...

Mason bees are “solitary bees,” meaning that unlike honey bees, they do not form a massive colony. These hard-working native pollinators emerge from their cocoons in the spring and begin the process of nesting in specialized tubes. In each tube, a female mason bee might lay as many as six or seven eggs, and she’ll provide a food source (a big ball of pollen and nectar) for each egg. The eggs and food stores are each separated into their own cell, and then the tube itself is capped with a little bit of clay— hence the name “Mason” bee. Mason...

From The Book of Kale & Friends by Sharon Hanna and Carol Pope. This fantastic book includes over 130 recipes and covers 14 easy-to-grow super-foods that can be grown in the garden or in patio containers. Minted Kale with Peas and Blue Cheese is one of our stand-by fresh salads, a knock out for parties and potlucks.