One thing I love about my office is looking out the window when it’s light outside. I see all manner of things going on, including what critters are hanging around what.
Yesterday, I again found myself leaning forward and peering through the window a bit perplexed as it seemed a hummingbird was drinking from my larger flowering basil. Continue reading “Basil and hummingbirds.”
I first learned about scarlet runner pole beans (Phaseolus coccineus) in The 2 Hour Garden book by Roger Grounds. I honestly did not research them much beyond his mention, and rather impulsively fit them into our $20 seed budget instead of kidney beans. Back then, I knew very little other than they were a pole bean with at least 6′ vines (I’ve seen up to 15′ listed), and should be one of the first things in our kitchen garden once they arrived. I read in that book that apparently most Americans don’t like the beans, while others consider them a gourmet legume. (Apparently the shell is a bit tough for some, and at least one site recommended cutting the pod before serving, other sites say forget the pod and shell the beans.) Continue reading “Scarlet Runner Beans and Hummingbirds”
I forget when I found this book, but I have a copy of Good Bugs for Your Garden [Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1995], written by Allison Mia Starcher.
It has lovely illustrations, and contains downright sensible and needed information for those who want to at least lower their reliance on chemical pesticides even if they are not willing to go full out organic with pest control.
It’s also a small, almost pocket sized book. Easy to tuck into a backpack, tote or handbag. Also one that won’t take up much space if you are the sort to keep reading materials in your bathroom.
Continue reading “Encouraging beneficial insects”
