Gulf Fritillary Butterfly – Agraulis vanillae

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanilla) on Coyote mint (Monardella villosa)Bright orange butterflies are nowflitting through many Southern California gardens.  A bit smaller and brighter than the Monarchs,they seem particularly attracted to the pink and purple flowers in MotherNature’s Backyard.  These colorfulvisitors are the Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae).Gulf...

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Preparing for (El Niño?) Winter Rains

 Sustainablegardening in Southern California means coping with highly variableprecipitation. This month, we’re continuing to manage the effects of an epicfour-year drought.  And now scientistsare cautiously predicting an El Niño winter, with higher than average amountsof rainfall.  Yup, that’s gardening inour capricious mediterranean climate!TheU.S. Weather...

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Plant of the Month (August) : Telegraph plant – Heterotheca grandiflora

Telegraph plant (Heterotheca grandiflora) - tall upright plant in foregroundEarlyAugust and it’s full-on summer in the garden. Most of our annual wildflowers are long gone.  But several local sunflowers add their cheerynotes from now into fall.  One of theseis the Telegraph plant, Heterothecagrandiflora.Telegraphplant is an annual or short-lived perennial native...

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