Declining Insects — Declining World: Part 2 Causes of Insect Decline
Insect populations around the world are rapidly declining. Within the next 20 years, 40% of the earth’s insect species may be extinct and within 100 years insects could disappear completely. (Blog intro: Declining Insects — Declining World, Feb. 20, 2019) As usual, once I start thinking about a topic, it pops up everywhere; declining …
Feel the Need for Green: Caring for Your Houseplants
Writing about houseplants the last few weeks has made me want to spruce up my office with some new plants. The ones I have are solid, dependable varieties that do well in low light conditions and benign neglect, but they don’t particularly inspire me anymore. It’s time to try something new. Saturday, …
The Healing Power of Herbs
We got snowed in last weekend — eighteen inches of snow, no heat, no electricity and no way to get out of our driveway. Since there was absolutely nothing else I could do, I took the opportunity to bundle up in blankets, sit down in my favorite chair and read. All day — …
Resolving to Succeed
I’ve never been very good at either making or keeping New Year’s Resolutions. Like a lot of people, if I do remember to make them, I forget about them within a few days. Then, I feel guilty that I didn’t follow through, I start to feel badly about myself and my new year is off …
Memory Gardens -- A Natural Lifeline
Watching someone you love slowly disappear from the present, fade into the past and eventually lose the ability to function is both frustrating and painful. Millions of American families are currently experiencing these emotions as their loved ones struggle with the challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease. It is the 6th leading cause of death in the …
Plant A Patch -- American Bittersweet ( Celastrus scandens)
American bittersweet can be counted on to give spring, summer, fall and winter beauty. This native vine, which grows well in poor to average soil, prefers full sun for maximum flower and fruit production, but it will also tolerate part shade. The greenish-white to yellow blooms appear in May and June. In late …
The Not So Secret Life of Bees -- Part Two, Designing for Bees
The more I read about bees and their relatives, wasps and flies, the more fascinated I become with these tiny powerhouses and the more I understand why people are so passionate about providing for them and protecting them.As we mentioned in last week’s blog, honeybees may be the most well-known bee, but it is certainly …
Plant A Patch : Aromatic Aster -- (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
An exceptional plant for the fall pollinator garden, the showy bluish-purple Aromatic aster blooms are beloved by birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators and they make excellent cut flowers.These asters, that typically grow in a mounded shape 24 inches tall, thrive in full sun and tolerate dry, rocky or clay soils. …
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