June 22, 2019 - Issue #414

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June 17th begins pollinator week, where NGA gets taken over by the important creatures that pollinator our flowers and provide a critically important part in our food supply.

Squash bugs are found throughout the United States. Adult bugs are flat-backed, brown, about 1/2 inch long; the immature nymphs are shaped like adults but are whitish with black legs.

One of the joys of having an edible landscape and edible gardens is to share them with your children and grand children. When experienced gardeners look back at how and when they got started gardening, it often involved a parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent taking them under their wing in the garden.

Gardening for butterflies is a suspenseful art, a bit like holding a picnic and wondering if your invited guests will show up. It's because butterflies are choosy insects. Any gardener can have aphids, but red admirals, painted ladies and tiger swallowtails insist upon certain amenities, such as sunshine and shelter from wind.

Monarch butterflies are amazing creatures. These strikingly colored, orange, white, and black butterflies migrate up to three thousand miles every year to spend the winter roosting in large groups in mild winter areas of Mexico and California. Unfortunately, they are also in deep trouble. Over the past twenty years, the number of monarchs has dropped precipitously due in large part to loss of habitat.

These annuals are easy to grow, look great in any garden, are easily found, and loved by pollinators of all kinds. Bees, birds, bugs, and butterflies all benefit from the list below. These beautiful flowers serve as host plants and/or as food for the pollinators.

Large or small, ages 1 to 99, butterflies painted with diverse colors and patterns are a welcome sight. You can increase your butterfly viewing opportunities by creating spaces more attractive to them.

Even with a bright sunroom, sun-loving herbs will need 12 to 16 hours a day of supplemental light. You have two choices: fluorescent or high-intensity discharge (HID).

Perennials and Shrubs especially suited to the Northern and Western regions of the United States.

Ants -- Although ants like pollen and nectar, they aren't good pollinators, so many flowers have sticky hairs or other mechanisms to keep them out.

Growing plants that attract butterflies is not as difficult as you may think. The first step is understanding what makes butterflies tick at different stages of their life cycle.

There is a nearly endless list of plants that gardeners can grow to attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies to their gardens. We have put together a list of some of our favorite easy-to-grow plants for you to add to your own garden.