Insects in My Neighborhood in April

I have seen both beneficial insects and insect pests in my neighborhood this month. Here are some I was able to capture with my camera.

Insect Friends

I and my neighbors have many herbs that provide forage for bees and other welcome insect visitors. I love hearing my herbs buzz. Below is a happy bee on my rosemary. The bees are also enjoying my black sage. 

Below is a butterfly enjoying my black sage. They don't mind sharing the sage with the bees.

I was very happy when I saw a ladybug on my wormwood yesterday, but I was unable to get a photo because I was working and didn't have my camera handy. I do have a photo of a ladybug on a vetch plant not far from home, though.

Insect Pests

The reason I was so happy to find the ladybug yesterday is because my calendula plants have been attacked by aphids this month. Ladybugs love to eat aphids. I hope the ladybug I saw will stick around and bring friends. I tore out this plant and another heavily infested calendula to try to keep them from getting any worse. There's still plenty left for the ladybugs. 

I also started seeing baby boxelder bugs yesterday. I didn't have my camera near me, but these bugs visit in droves every year. They get worse in fall. The photo below shows a mature boxelder bug on what I believe is a borage leaf. They don't do much damage, but they can be pests. 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. 

This is my ninth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards

H is for Horses

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The Garden is Full of Surprises

It's beginning to look like spring in Paso Robles. Not only are there trees flowering on the streets and in neighbors' yards, but the plants that have been awaiting nature's call are beginning to wake up and bloom. The garden is full of surprises. 

To the right you see my irises waking up. Two days ago I could see the buds that had not yet shown their purple color. Five days ago there was actually one flower near these buds, but it faded before I could get out with my camera. One flower appeared in this particular clump of irises last year in December, but my purple irises usually don't flower until April. Here's another view of this iris patch taken today.

It's not just irises. Rosemary is beginning to show more blue flowers and on the top the blue is winning over the green. This will make the bees very happy. The black sage plant you see behind the irises is also just beginning to produce some open flowers. The calendula never seems to sleep, but since the rain it is producing some of the largest blooms I've seen all year. Here's one of them.

The biggest surprise of all I discovered in my garden was what you see below.

Just after I planted some kale seeds I had collected last week before the rain, I discovered this plant growing a long distance from the mother plant I'd collected seeds from before I pulled the plant out. This is where the mother plant was in June last year. You can see it flowering and making seeds. I like collecting and saving my own seeds. 

You will notice the kale is growing in front of the house. At the back right you can see the garage wall. To get to where that photo of the kale volunteer plant was taken, you would need to  walk around the garage and across the driveway -- not a very direct route for the wind to blow the seeds. 

Had I planted the seeds myself in the poor soil at the edge of that clump of gazanias that gets nothing but rain water, I doubt if they would have sprouted. Who would choose a place like that to plant? God did. It appears the plant is thriving with no help from me at all. Nature never fails to amaze me. 

Bloom Where You Are Planted Mug
Design a unique personalized coffee cup from zazzle.com.

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Damaged Sweetgum Tree in January

This sweetgum tree has lost a lot of bark. The lichen have also made themselves at home. We would almost think the tree is dead were it not for the newer shoots branching out.

Damaged Sweetgum Tree in January, © B. Radisavljevic

 I liked the way the colorful leaves still clinging to those small branches contrasted with the rosemary's pale blue flowers and green needle-like leaves. Winter needs all the color it can get.

Which plants brighten your winter?

Mother Nature Also Decorates in December

Mother Nature Decorates with Red and Green in December

Traditionally, we think of red and green as the Chrismas colors. Mother Nature loves them at this time of year. I took this photo a couple of days ago in front of the Historic Depot Office at the North County Transport Center. It's currently home to Anglim Winery and a law office. Do you see the red "ornaments" on the hedge and the rosemary bush next to it?

Rosemary Decorating with Bradford Pear Leaves

In this next photo, we see a different view of the same plants with the current Amtrak waiting room / office in the background.

Shrubs with Autumn Leaves
Amtrak Waiting Room is in Back

The cotoneaster plant with its green leaves and red berries are also on display during the holiday season. I have made coordinated greeting cards and stamps from my photos of cotoneaster should you want to use them for your holiday cards. You can find all my variations at Zazzle. There are four cards with this design: a blank greeting card, a blank postcard, a card appropriate for businesses to send, and a more personal greeting for friends. Of course, you can also add, change or remove text and even change the image to design your own card if you have one you like better.

 Red Cotoneaster Berries: Holiday season Greeting Card Holiday Postage Stamp: Red Cotoneaster Berries

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Garfield Relaxing in Herb Garden

About this time last year, we still had neighbor cats visiting us every day. Usually they hung out on our porch. On this particular day, Garfield was taking his nap in one of our herb gardens, between the irises and the rosemary. It was almost exactly a year ago.

A lot has happened since then. Our butterfly bush was blown down by the wind and now blooms from a horizontal position. Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph well in that position. The branches now grow upright from the ground, but the flower spikes still bloom in all directions as they did when the plant was a tree taller than I am.

Much worse than that, though, is that Garfield also disappeared this spring. Our neighbors started with four cats. One of them  had a kitten. Now the kitten is all they have left. I hate to think what happened to the others. I miss them all.

Mixed Herbs in a Paso Robles Garden

Mixed Herbs in a Paso Robles Garden, © B. Radisavljevic

This photo came from my front flower bed about a month ago, in June. Two of the herbs are in bloom. The pale pink flower clusters are on the clary sage. To the left of it you see tricolor sage. Between that and the kale in back is oregano, which is now in bloom, but it wasn't then. The small purple flowers are hyssop blossoms. For a closer look, just click the photo to enlarge it.

The sages and oregano are in pots to keep them confined. I like growing these perennial herbs because they require almost no care and little water. I harvest and use the oregano. I grow the other herbs for their ornamental value. The bees use them for forage, and they add color in season. Herbs give me the most value for my money when water is rationed.

The photo on the card below comes from another of my herb gardens in Templeton. It shows the tricolor sage in bloom. To its right is common sage, which has finished blooming. The rosemary, which has also finished blooming, is behind.

Blank Card: Mixed Sages and Rosemary by barbsbooks

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Happy Bees Enjoying March Flowers

I'm always happy when I see bees digging into my plants. I expect to see them on the rosemary, since it blooms sometimes when nothing else will. The problem with taking their pictures is that as soon as you aim your camera at them, they move to the next flower. They seem to be in perpetual motion.

The second plant in my garden that is covered with bees is the holly. This is an interesting season for holly. As you can see, some of last year's red berries are still there, even as the flowers that will produce the next batch of berries are in full bloom.

What are the bees enjoying in your garden this month?

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