Animals and insects in the garden.
I did not intend to present you with another creepy crawly post quite so soon. However, in the last one, I briefly mentioned some invertebrates that I have purchased, in addition to those that I have gleaned from the garden. I’ve been waiting anxiously for the first two to moult (shed their old exoskeleton), and …
I grow several allium species and cultivars in my garden and I find that many of them serve as a hub for a surprising range of pollinators. This is nodding onion (Allium cernuum), an easy to grow, multi-use plant that is native to Carolinian habitats (parts of Canada and the US, including right here in …
I have not been very diligent about posting here, but I have continued to follow the directive I set for myself in 2016 to photograph and identify the bees and other insects that inhabit my garden. Aliens in My Garden is a series capturing the fascinating insects that inhabit my small, urban garden. While many …
A post shared by Davin Risk (@langueverte) on Nov 18, 2017 at 11:34am PST Davin shot this ethereal, slow motion video in the garden last weekend. I believe these were the same midges that danced around me one afternoon a few weeks ago as I was constructing a cold frame over this bed in anticipation …
Fall is the season of the spider around here. Well, I suppose that’s not exactly accurate. Summer seems to be the season of the spider in my kitchen. Fall is their season in my garden. Every summer a range of smaller species and one female Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) sets up shop in my kitchen …
I spent about an hour yesterday afternoon perched on a stool in front of a patch of borage (Borago officinalis) with my camera poised to take photos of pollinators as they went about their business collecting pollen. I observed at least 6 different types of bees on this particular plant, many of which were small …
This is how it started (sort-of): Three years ago I found Tobacco Hornworms making a meal of some of my tomato plants. I was fascinated and repulsed. I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures, and then, like a good gardener, I immediately killed them. It wasn’t long before I regretted that action. I’ve …
The attendance of pollinators and other insect allies in my garden has blossomed in the five years since I first put spade to the earth and dug up the turf grass that dominated this yard. Over the years, I’ve had many gardens in a range of urban settings, but none have been as alive as …
I found this photo today while searching through folders of summer images on my computer and felt compelled to post it. This was a common sight in my garden last summer, especially over the weeks that liatris was in bloom. It’s a pollinator magnet and I’ll never have another garden in this climate without at …
When we adopted our wonderful dog Molly just over a year and a half ago, the most common question asked was, “How will you keep her from destroying the garden?” Molly is a terrier mix, and everything we were told indicated that she might be a bit of a menace in the garden. It was …
First things first: I don’t have tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) in my own garden. What you see above is a photo that I took a few weekends ago of a Tobacco Hornworm (Manduca sexta) fatting itself up on my tomatoes. The caterpillars of these two distinct species of moth look very much alike and are …
I was at the Royal Agricultural Fair twice this week. First to be a judge in the Canada Cooks the Books competition and again for Poultry Day to check out the chickens. The following are some of the highlights of this year’s show. Japanese Cockerel and Pullet