May 7 , 2015
Healing plants & safe edibles for us & wildlife
At a time that bees and butterflies are turbulent , I ’m for certain glad I ’ve got things to eat for them . powerful now , they ’re going for my star jasmines , mold as “ shrubs ” near my patio where I can get a good snuff . And you bet , I have sex my aboriginal Penstemon cobaeas for that pop - out lily-white in part shade/ sunshine . Nice deal that the bees enjoy them , too . Earlier , my native Salvia lyrata sow itself quite mirthfully on my back terrace . Everybody happy about that!I’m thrilled that some of my neighbor are on the bandwagon , since feeding wildlife is really a village form of thing . A few blocks over , bee were all over Desert Bird of Paradise ( Caesalipinia gillessii).These folks take out a pile of lawn at their hot curbing strip show with native ground binding , fluent ponyfoot ( Dichondra argentea ) . What a enceinte accent to Jerusalem sage ( Phlomis fruticosa ) for pollinators!To keep the bill of fare live on in summertime , almond vervain ( Aloysia virgata)does the conjuring trick with vanilla extract - fragranced peak all summer . Daphne makes recurrent almond verbena herPlant of the Weekfor its shrubby , deer - immune , drought defiant qualities . Deciduous in winter , it ’s best to cut it back near the base in early bound to promote a fuller figure . Shrubby aboriginal Bee - brush ( Aloysia gratissima ) is another sweet option for sunshine to part tad . Jay Beard from wholesaleLone Star Nursery’sgrowing some surprising good plants for us and wildlife . One is tea tree ( Melaleuca alternifolia ) ; you know , the oil we buy as a natural antiseptic . We can get this evergreen sunlight - lover mightily here ! We ca n’t make pure for the crude oil , but we for sure can expend the leaves in an antifungal poultice . Canna edulisis another Jay grows for its edible rhizomes . Be sure to get the edulis!Jay ’s also grow constituent - from - semen ( no neonicotinoids ! ) plants for butterfly and bees . aboriginal frostweed ( Verbesina virginica ) make a endearing background in profoundly umbrageous country , exploding with flowers in fall for all butterflies and migrating Monarchs . We’ll all been looking for aboriginal silkweed ! Jay ’s growing Green antelopehorn ( Asclepias viridis ) and Antelope horn ( Asclepias genus Asperula ) , available shortly at The Natural Gardener . Do check , since there ’s a waiting list . Lone Star Nursery’sother unique industrial plant are usable at : The Great Outdoors , Wheatsville , BRITE Ideas , King Feed in Wimberley , Round Rock Gardens , Red Barn , and Georgetown Farm Supply . feel out more !
In outpouring , native coral Australian honeysuckle ( Lonicera sempervirens ) fertilize hummingbird , bees , and butterflies , like this one onKathy Faul ’s patiovine in Moody . Since she ’s got a boo ’s eye view from indoors , she can watch the mockingbirds and cardinal raise their young snuggled in its vining safety . Later , she can watch hiss snag the yield . But , this cervid - resistant vine for sunshine to part shadiness take some brawl now and then to keep it lush . Get Daphne ( and Kathy ’s ) tipsfor when and how to form coral meeting house . Viewer Picturegoes toComal County Master Gardener Charlotte Trussellfor her duo of cutie bluebird . Mexican buckye behind them fertilize lots of wildlife all twelvemonth . John Dromgoole feeds our soil ( and us ) withsummertime cover crops . Buckwheat , pick peas , purplish Cordell Hull peas and sinister - eyed pea plant return N to the dirt for our winter crops and keep sess at alcove in fallow veggie beds . And , he tells us that you’re able to even implant some of your dried grocery store peas!On term of enlistment , theCompost Pedallerscycle to reuse our kitchen fighting and other household waste to sustain local farms . See why they ’re doing it and what you’re able to reprocess into your compost pile .
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next week , Linda
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