Throughout the year I’m blessed with hummingbirds in my garden. In the winter they feast on Garrya elliptica, Flowering Winter Currant and Witch Hazel. In fall they sip at Monkshood, Hardy Fuchsia and Pineapple Sage. In spring they snap up aphids and sip nectar from a smorgasborg of annuals and perennials. And in summer the [...]

I’ve had an ongoing problem over the last couple of years with aphids eating the tender summer growth on my Acer triflorum. Summer growth is the second surge that the tree puts on, and each year the aphids have distorted the leaves and made the last new growth of the season look pretty sad. The [...]

One of the top questions of the summer is, “How can I beat mosquitos without using lots of bug sprays?”.
 Well, there are a lot of things to try, but those pestering little buggers are difficult to fully irradicate. One tiny bit of standing water — in your garden or on neighboring property — can turn [...]