August 2011

17 Aug
2011
I watched this monarch lay a half dozen eggs, but wasn't able to get a photo until she slowed down for a sip of nectar.

Monarchs!

Yesterday, I wrote about how vegetable gardens are more than just vegetable gardens — they are habitats. Today, I walked out the front door to find a monarch laying eggs on one of my butterflyweed plants. Never — not once in all my years of gardening in Virginia — have ...

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16 Aug
2011
Carolina wrens are frequent visitors to the garden, where they forage for all manner of insects.

It’s not a garden. It’s a habitat.

Yesterday, I saw a hummingbird in the garden. It’s the first one I’ve seen since moving into the house last October. She helped herself to some nectar from the native butterflyweed plants before buzzing off to her next stop. Pretty excellent way to start the week. She wasn’t alone either. ...

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14 Aug
2011
Cristina, with the last basil harvest of the 2010 gardening season.

The making of a (gardening) outlaw

Nearly a year ago, I bought my first house. A 70s-era split-level on a half-acre of land, approximately an hour west of DC. The house is part of a subdivision, and is surrounded by other 70s-era split-levels. Children ride their bikes past my yard. Neighbors wave at one another, and ...

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1 Aug
2011
CarolinaMantis-Side

Carolina praying mantis

Most of the praying mantis we see are exotics: immigrants from Asia and Europe. Our native mantids just don’t seem to be as common. At least, not in my gardens. In fact, until today, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a native North American praying mantis. I was on my ...

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