Busy Native Bee with Pollen Buckets on a Native Shrub

Years ago an old friend of mine visited our garden and she remarked that we had a lot of native bees at work. I was happy to hear this, but I simply didn't see it, at least not in the same way she did. My mind was somewhere else at the time and I was simply not yet in tune with the environment I was creating for not only them, but for other insects as well. 

Sometime last year I finally realized I'd created what really did feel more and more like a whole new ecosystem in my backyard. By combining all kinds of native plants with non-natives, essentially stuffing the property to its gills with plants—both horizontally and increasingly more and more vertically—I should have anticipated this result. Funny the little Catholic girl inside of me was too hung up on feeling guilty for having made what looked like such a mess. 

I didn't see the bees and bugs back then, but as things have matured, and in a way, so have I, I have started to see them for the first time. 

I apologize for the fuzzy pictures, but it was hard to get a great shot of this bee. It was busy collecting pollen—as can be seen by its little yellow pollen buckets on its legs. I couldn't stop giggling when I saw what looked like adorable little boots on its feet and I am sure that my mirth did not improve my photography. 

The shrub being feasted upon is our native evergreen huckleberry Vaccinium ovatum. When I went outside today, it was still being feasted upon. If I am able to catch another cutie with pollen booties tomorrow I will be sure to post more pictures if they're any clearer.

If you are interested in learning more about the conservation of invertebrates around the world, I encourage you to read more about it at: The Xerces Society. 

A Welcome Guest in my Seedy Garden

These are my babies—this year. I am rather proud of them, but I am not always the best mother to my seedlings. With so much going on, and with more kids coming through than ever, it is difficult to keep track of them all. I just hope that many of these can survive their time with me. I really mean to be a good plant mom, but sometimes, it's so hard when you have so many. Ugh!

The grassy looking seedlings right above this caption are Freesia alba. I cannot wait for these guys to pull through and bloom for me.

My single Espelette Pepper from last winter produced spice and plenty of fertile seeds! 

Recently I discovered my secondary asthma has worsened and this frustrates me daily but I am feeling better. Gardening has kept me so happy during the last 6 or 7 years though so I am using it as my secondary medicine and even if the seedlings mean more work, they are so cheerful I just cannot help myself. They need me as I need them.

Seeds: The ORIGINAL Earthmovers. 

(ASTHMA NOTE: You need neither wheezing nor a cough to have asthma though they are the most frequently listed symptoms. You can have a version similar to mine, where slowly, over time, your lungs swell.)

Yes, I grow grass for our cats. Once you rip out the lawn you need to keep them from wandering over to the neighbors' yards, right?

With my health improving, I am finding that things are returning to normal, but I am significantly more tired from all of the recent garden and house activity. I just hope that my lack of energy and feeling better don't combine to hurt the plants. 

Pregnant Hellebore bloom. I am waiting to harvest the seeds for my ETSY store. They seem to take forever. 

Tonight, after walking the garden circle around the house—just as I was about to enter back into the house by way of the side door—I noticed Mona the cat acting strangely. Staring down at a moving object walking quickly along the ground, she didn't even notice me as I hurried over to watch with her. I was amazed to find this rather large ground beetle. Mona was surprised too to say the least!

Sometimes we have to wonder where these things come from, but then we need to accept that we don't need to know everything, and we must let these thoughts go. With my New American Garden design, I am not surprised I am attracting wildlife. When things are left to be part wild, and part planned, and you have plants everywhere, it really becomes a different place. And that different place, well, it takes ALL kinds and I mean all kinds. 

In my own life and garden, I will accept that I am not always in control of anything, and that I cannot always do my best in either, and when the unexpected guest or surprise appears, I will stand near these things, watch their multiplicity, and I will take a deep breath to remind me how happy I am to be alive.

I will be the reed of grass humbly dancing in the wind—rather than the mighty oak that cannot withstand the barrage, falling to pieces.

So dance little seedlings and show me that you won't break in the wind! How else will you begin to thrive if you cannot dance in the wind?

TO BE CONTINUED...

Wordless Wednesday: To Flora, May Day 2011

Community Gardening—In the Beginning...

Our long wait for the 200sf community garden plot is over! Late last week the letter finally arrived and with my number in hand, I called the volunteer Garden Manager. On Saturday, two foster girls and I dashed over to check the place out. We were excited to see we'd been given a plot near the street. 

Two of my most frequent foster visitors were thrilled to be given the chance to make something of this space. They spent hours working on the walkway from the front gate to the other plots and they weeded too. I was completely shocked to be honest. This kind of freedom and space and ownership was something they leapt at in a way I'd never imagined. 

Many of the kids we care for are often very isolated in almost every area of their lives. Often they are in special classes and are separated from other kids and family members, sometimes they are even in special separate schools, but most of all, they are isolated by an extreme lack of financial resources and family support. They often feel so left out of everything they develop fantasies about what their life should be like, and sometimes they just lie about it. Why shouldn't they? When you're an innocent child who is a victim of the circumstances typically brought about as a result of the choices made by the adults who should love you the most, being punished for lying is not even a blip on your radar. 

Over time, I've noticed that many of them get anxious about all of this isolation and they turn to keeping their hands busy in order to keep the sad thoughts at bay. Sometimes busy hands can do good or beautiful things, but if you are isolated and have limited resources, busy hands can lead to trouble. I cannot tell you how often I have to pick up tiny random scraps of paper from kids who just rip things up because of their anxiousness.

Punishing these kids for lying or stealing just doesn't work. Reversing the effects of their isolated feelings, teaching them coping skills, and helping them to understand that they are not alone DOES. 

Saturday I had no idea what would happen, and overall, I was completely shocked. I have never seen the kids so calm and focused. They politely asked dog walkers who walked past the fence if they could pet their dogs, they bickered less and worked together more, but most of all, they worked really hard, asking tons of questions, and they were so positive about the rewards to come later in the summer. 

In addition, the fact that the garden was not on our property, but instead, is part of a network in the community, made a difference that I'd never thought about before. When they discovered there are other troubled and at-risk youth all over the country in big cities participating in similar activities in similar environments, I think for the first time I witnessed both kids reflecting that they belonged to something bigger and better than their problems. That day what calmed them was a sense of pride that they so rarely are able to feel and that so many of us take for granted. They also realized that they now belonged to a great group, a group that can feed people, and that made them feel good—really good.

This success led them to the huge reward of dining out. Negotiating that often problematic situation led to another reward, so we drove up to a viewpoint and watched the city and identified mountains. Since I was so happy, and they continued to behave so well, they reached what I now call the ultimate level. Before returning home, we visited a Gelateria and they interacted with the strange setting with far more confidence than I'd ever seen before and they were so much more content and calm. I was so proud of them and I let them know that—repeatedly.

If you have any access to a community garden, I encourage you to participate in any program that helps troubled kids learn a skill that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. After only one day, I can tell you, you might just be blown away by the results. I know I was. It was a day I will never forget.