Tips for a Pollinator Friendly Organic Garden The Perfect Pair: Organic Gardening and Pollinators When we think of organic gardening, we often picture lush, chemical-free landscapes filled with vibrant vegetables, aromatic herbs, and colorful flowers. But there’s one group of tiny allies that plays a crucial role in turning these gardens into thriving ecosystems: pollinators. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and even certain beetlesContinue reading “Tips for a Pollinator Friendly Organic Garden”
Musings from an Albuquerque Pollinator ParadiseIf you’re reading this from New Mexico, the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Grand Opening of Visitor Center and 10th Birthday is on Saturday, September 10th, about a month away. I hope you’ll join us! It’s summer in New Mexico and it’s hot and dry. Not as hot as Phoenix, thankfully! We received niceContinue reading “Musings from an Albuquerque Pollinator Paradise”
One Year in my Pollinator GardenHighlights from my pollinator garden in New Mexico, featuring more than 70 native bees and 300 species of insects.
Meet the Plants: More BeardtonguesI previously shared a few common garden Penstemon in this post. Yesterday, I was watching a talk on Penstemon by Dr. Andi Wolfe (Ohio State University) and she has some beautiful slides. Please enjoy this look at Penstemon diversity.
Ask a Bumblebee Source: Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab (BIML) | Facebook USGS/FWS Native Bee Lab have developed a simple Plant/Bumble Bee Survey that permits anyone to survey what plants Bumble Bees use anywhere there are Bumble Bees (literally). Our goal is to quantify which plants bumble bees use, rank them by that use, and also identify which onesContinue reading “Ask a Bumblebee”
Meet the plants: BeardtonguesBeardtongues (or Penstemon, the scientific name of the genus) are blooming again in Arizona. With over 50 wild species in Arizona and New Mexico (and more than 270 total), there’s a lot of options for our gardens. We hope you’ll pick up a few of these plants when visiting your local, native plant nursery thisContinue reading “Meet the plants: Beardtongues”
What should I plant for the most pollinators?As much as possible! Okay, that’s not much of an answer. First, which kinds of pollinators do you want to attract? Hummingbirds – red tubular Penstemon and Acanthus flowers work great. Bees – sunflowers are your best bet. Butterflies and moths aren’t so picky, but you’ll want to provide host plants, like milkweed for Monarchs.Continue reading “What should I plant for the most pollinators?”
