Tag Archives: Pollinator Plants

Hummers & Butterflies Love Hardy Fuchsias

Hardy Fuchsias reviving after deep freezes Coming Back After Cold Where winter froze the bones of tender garden favorites, it’s always wise to wait a while before deciding if a beloved plant is truly toast. Judging by readers’ questions, hardy … Continue reading

Posted in Birds In The Garden, Butterfly Gardens, Care & Feeding, Easy Care Perennials, Health & Wellbeing, Planting & Transplanting, Pollinators, Pruning, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Winterizing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Gardening In The Time Of Disaster

Friendship is golden Pressure Drop How are you managing your days right now? As the weeks and months roll by, there have been so many shifts in my own attitude, from stunned shock to obsessive researching to bone deep grief … Continue reading

Posted in Hardy Herbs, Health & Wellbeing, Native Plants, Pollination Gardens, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Plants That Feel Like Home

Planting must harmonize with neighbor’s cars and backdrop shrubs, of course. Comfort And Joy Whenever we move to a new home, there’s always a period of adjustment as dreamy ideas start to mesh with reality. When I first realized that … Continue reading

Posted in Annual Color, Early Crops, Easy Care Perennials, Garden Design, Hardy Herbs, Planting & Transplanting, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Milkweed Magic

The warm season butterflies live for just a few weeks, long enough to lay more eggs. The spring cycle repeats twice more before the autumn-born fourth generation appear in September and October. These are the travelers, living for as much as 8 months and voyaging as far as Mexico. This still seems little short of magical to me. Years ago, my family spent summers on Cape Cod in an old artist’s studio. The windows were warping with age, and mine couldn’t quite shut, so a trumpet vine had wiggled its way into my bedroom. There was a chrysalis on one wandering arm and I was blessed and fascinated to watch a Monarch emerge in a matter of seconds from its little case. It flexed its wings, which expanded in the sunlight, then flew off through the open window, sparking a lifelong delight in the natural world. Continue reading

Posted in Easy Care Perennials, Garden Prep, Pollinators, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Winterizing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment