Tag: butterflies
-
Buckwheats Around Town
A Buckwheat in Every Garden was created with the hope that sharing a free native plant with gardeners would help improve habitat for birds and pollinators in home landscapes throughout Orange County. We recently reached out to people who picked up a free buckwheat to see how their new buckwheat plant is growing. Here’s a…
-
Buckwheat in Winter
Pictured here is a large expanse of California buckwheat growing healthy and wild in O’Neill Park in November, just before the rainy season began. Notice how the flowers have turned a rusty reddish brown as this shrub reflects the changing seasons. The buckwheat flower is turning to seed as winter approaches. California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)…
-
Restored Habitat at Shipley Supports Wildlife
I took advantage of the break in the rain last weekend to visit Shipley Nature Center for their A Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway in Huntington Beach. The 18-acre Shipley Nature Center is a California native botanical area and wetland. The centerpiece of the gardens is a fresh water pond surrounded by various California native habitat…
-
More Buckwheat, More Butterflies
When you plant California buckwheat in your home landscape, you bring immediate relief to butterflies and other pollinators searching for nectar and shelter. California buckwheats flower for months, enrich the soil with their tiny leaves, are easy to grow, and are evergreen. Buckwheat is a foundation plant for any garden. The California Native Plant Society…
-
Buckwheat with a Side of Natives
The Shipley Nature Center of Huntington Beach is partnering with STEMscopes students to host the final Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway of 2019. The December 7th Shipley Nature Center buckwheat giveaway is especially exciting because along with the 200 buckwheat plants being distributed for free, Shipley will offer 70 additional California native plants for sale.…
-
Buckwheat Giveaway in Dana Point
The city of Dana Point is partnering with the Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) on an ambitious 200-plant Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway this Friday, November 15 at the Dana Point Community Center. OCCNPS and the city of Dana Point will give away 200 four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants from 9 a.m. to…
-
How the Buckwheat Campaign Began
The idea for A Buckwheat in Every Garden was hatched in July 2019 when board members of the California Native Plant Society, Orange County chapter (OCCNPS) met for their annual strategy meeting. The goal of the campaign: To encourage Orange County homeowners to install California native plants in their home landscapes to support healthy urban environments.…
-
Buckwheats Buzz
Most people recognize the common honey bee as a social creature that lives in hives and makes honey. However many people don’t know that honey bees are non-native insects, introduced from Europe. There are 1,600 species of native bees in California, ranging in size from one-inch long to less than one-quarter inch long. California native…
-
Buckwheat Brings Beauty
Native plant lovers know from experience that California native plants bring beauty into their lives through connections with people, pollinators and wildlife. Do you have questions about California native plants? Tree of Life Nursery is hosting California Native Plant Society experts this Saturday, October 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is your chance to…
-
Buckwheat Builds Soil
California buckwheat is an evergreen plant with small leaves that occasionally drop to the ground, forming a natural mulch. The fallen leaves enrich the soil around the plant and allow the plant to grow and spread in its own loamy mulch. If you are an Orange County homeowner who hasn’t picked up your free ‘Dana…
-
Birds, Bees and Buckwheat
The California Native Plant Society Orange County (OCCNPS) chapter created A Buckwheat in Every Garden to encourage homeowners to plant California native plants in their home landscape– which in turn supports and increases bird populations. My neighbor recently sent this photo of a swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the leaves of her kumquat tree. She had…
-
Buckwheat Brings a Party
One hundred and fifty ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheats found new homes in Orange County. The first outreach event at Acorn Day at O’Neill Regional Park and the second outreach at Smartscape were very popular, attracting many gardeners eager to install a native California buckwheat in their home landscapes. The Orange County chapter of the California…