Blog Archives

Rings of Fire

7/28/2015

What is ten-feet tall, has 20 heads, is loaded with pollen, and attracts chickadees, sweat bees, wasps, bumble bees, and honeybees?

This summer we have been hosting a volunteer sunflower, which erupted like Jack's beanstalk in the middle of our quinoa patch. I have not been able to get a firm ID: produces pollen, heads are 4-8 inches across, and currently we have 20 blooms from one stalk!

Favorite name contenders: Ring-of-Fire, Solar Chocolate, Lemon Queen, Music Box, The Joker, Firecracker, Gold Rush, and Vincent...

Not that the name matters; the bees love the abundant pollen, and we will have plenty of organic sunflower seeds to share with our backyard birds this winter.

Our own variety of "ring-of-fire": here we are burning old brood comb and enjoying the hot colors and lovely beeswax aroma. Perfect for a cool summer evening.
Photos © T. Byrne 2015

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Why You Should Choose Organic

7/19/2015

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Farmers Market ©T. Byrne 2015

Homegrown chard © T. Byrne 2015

Because it tastes so much better! Not only that...

I spent the bulk of this summer researching the effects of pesticides on children, and the health benefits of eating organic and non-processed foods. Things are much more dire than you would like to believe. Want to know more? Check out my new webpages: Go Organic and Pesticides, which I hope that you will find enlightening; included are hot links, resources, and my lastest infographic: "Pesticides are Not Healthy for Children or Other Living Things".

What can you do? Vote with your dollars! Download a copy of Environmental Working Group's 2015 EWG Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce here. Please advocate for non-toxic pesticide alternatives, sustainable farming, and food labeling, and shop at your local Farmers Market or co-op regularly.

Another excellent resource is "What's On My Food" by Pesticide Action Network. This is also available as an app–how handy is that?

See you at the Farmers Market!

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Mid-Summer Backyard Bug Report

7/12/2015

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Things have been quite exciting in our backyard, with visits from some spectacular-looking insects. First, the dragonflies-who are exciting to watch as they patrol throughout the gloaming. Next, our bees continue to draw out honeycomb, which they are loading up with pollen and nectar from our thyme, mint, yarrow, borage, and lilac. The photo of the exquisite tiny jewel-like beetles was taken by our gardener, Marisa of Chrysalis Garden Care, so beautiful! Finally, we have been enjoying watching swooping swallowtail butterflies soaring up and over our backyard several times each week.

"New" butterfly sighting: okay, go ahead and laugh, but yesterday I was charged by a "pugnacious and territorial"* butterfly as I was heading out to the alley on our garden path. It turns out that the Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta males are known to rush intruders, including humans, before flying off erratically. Who knew?

*as described by James & Nunnalle, in Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies

All photos ©T. Byrne (unless otherwise noted)

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More on the Plight of the Honeybee

7/10/2015

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This little film is a powerful statement of what is wrong with our regulatory system.

Veteran Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald uncovered EPA memos that dealt with the long-term consequences of using clothianidin, a neonicitinoid, on the life cycle of the honeybee.

Tom writes, "Do We Have A PESTICIDE BLOWOUT? Clothianidin is agriculture‛s Deep Water Horizon. America‛s farmland is awash in questionable chemicals as surely as the shorelines of the Gulf Coast are awash in crude oil – and for many of the same reasons."

What can you do to protect honeybees and all native bees and pollinators?
Do not buy flowering plants that have been treated with neonics
Support local & organic beekeepers
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Free Posters courtesy of Nora Wildgen at BeeSwell

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Lorquin's Admiral

7/7/2015

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Perhaps the butterflies read Pacific Horticulture?

We were delighted to have this Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquini make a visit to our backyard. It fluttered between our Stewartia and the Washington Hawthorne, apparently just basking in the sunshine. The adults sip flower nectar from plants (including California buckeye, yerba santa, and privet) and also enjoy feasting on bird droppings and dung (hmmmm, I wonder if the dairy manure compost we just brought in attracted this one?).

I do not know if any eggs were laid or if this was just a visit; regardless: it was a welcome sight and a relief from all the Cabbage Whites.

Bring on the native butterflies!

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Where Are the Butterflies?

7/2/2015

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"Creating a Safe Haven for Urban Lepidoptera"

The summer issue of Pacific Horticulture arrived yesterday and it was exciting to see my work as a feature article!

I was especially honored to appear in print alongside landscape architect and Berkeley professor Russell Beatty, with the reprint of his prescient 1977 essay on the Browning of the Greensward.

Enjoy this issue~it is bursting with information, insight, and lovely photography :^)

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Rings of Fire

Why You Should Choose Organic

Mid-Summer Backyard Bug Report

More on the Plight of the Honeybee

Lorquin's Admiral

Where Are the Butterflies?

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