In the past year disturbing news has emerged about the decline of insect populations around the world. Many of us are aware of the falling numbers of some larger or more charismatic species, including the monarch butterfly or the rusty-patched bumblebee, a candidate for listing as an Endangered Species. What I hadn’t realized was that this decline […]
Milkweed for Central Washington
Milkweeds (Asclepias sp.) have been in the news in recent years, mostly because of their critical importance to the monarch butterfly. The larvae of this iconic butterfly must feed on milkweed to develop so the adults seek milkweeds for each generation. There are over eighty species of milkweed found in North America. In Washington we have only three native […]
It’s cooling down – time to plant!
Bumblebee on cutleaf penstemon (Penstemon richardsonii) What a hot summer! It’s been hard on people, wildlife (especially fish) and plants. Even with diligent watering in the nursery there were a number of species that had new growth becoming crispy (I’m looking at you, vine maple!) The change to cooler weather over the past few weeks […]
Native Plants for Native Bees
Anthophora bee on phlox A few weeks back I attended a talk by Don Rolfs, who spoke about the over 700 species (!) of native bees we have in this state. Don, who has done fine work and photography on our local butterflies, is now intensely focused on documenting and photographing the native bees in our […]
Desert Buckwheats: Star Qualities but Often Overlooked
Cushion buckwheat (E. ovalifolium) Desert or wild buckwheats (Eriogonum sp.), members of the Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), are native to North America with the greatest numbers in the arid regions of the West, particularly in the Great Basin and California. There are about 250 species in total, with at least 17 in Washington and 11 in […]