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Garden Notes Blog
  • Going Native Fig 1
    Going Native – A History

    There are lots of reasons to include native plants in your garden. But do you know when the native plant movement began in California and why the use of native plants is so important?  Theodore Payne (1872-1963) is generally considered the father...

  • Feature 2 Pic 1
    Transforming Your Landscape: A Journey of Inspiration, Challenges, and Success - Part Two

    Watching the transformation of my front landscape over the past six months has been nothing short of exhilarating. Despite the challenges of an exceptionally hot summer, the plants have thrived, slowly acclimating to their new environment. This success...

  • Feature 3 Fig 2
    The UC Master Gardener - and the Public - as IPM Ambassadors

    An effective UC Master Gardener volunteer should see themselves first as a gardener, then a student, as well as a teacher, a storyteller, and finally, a defender of our shared California waterways and clean air. It may not be obvious, but we all live in...

  • Hernandez-Brito D., et al.
    Horticultural Terms — Epizoochory: Another Form of Seed Dispersal

    Horticultural Terms — Epizoochory: Another Form of Seed Dispersal In the Summer 2024 edition of this blog, I highlighted the “eliasome,” a fleshy appendage on some seeds that allows ants to transport them into their nests to feed their...

  • Herb Study Fig 1
    Herb Study – Caraway

    Herb Study – Caraway Over the years, my wife and I have converted our home's yard from 1100 ft2 of lawn to a native, edible, and herbal wonderland. We continue to add unique and fragrant herbs that enhance the overall beauty and bounty of our...

 

 


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UC Garden Blogs
  • A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, foraging on sedum in a UC Davis garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
    It's Friday Fly Day!

    It's Friday Fly Day, and time to post an image of a fly that masquerades as a bee. That would be "the bee fly," a fly so named because it resembles a beeOrder: Diptera. Family: Bombyliidae. In its adult stage, it's a pollinator that feeds on...


    By Kathy Keatley Garvey
    Author - Communications specialist
  • Michael Hoffmann is shown here presenting a TEDX Talk, titled
    UC Davis Seminar: 'Using Power of Food to Confront Climate Change'

    Have you ever been asked: "Do you BELIEVE in climate change?' The more pertinent question, scientists say, is "Do you UNDERSTAND climate change?"  Wikipedia defines climate change this way: "In common usage, climate change describes...


    By Kathy Keatley Garvey
    Author - Communications specialist
  • A crab spider eating a lygus bug, an agricultural pest in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
    Celebrating the Crab Spider in Arachtober

    It's Arachtober and that means celebrating arachnids for the entire month of October. Well, we ought to celebrate them year around, but October is THEIR month. Let's especially applaud crab spiders when they prey on such agricultural pests as the...


    By Kathy Keatley Garvey
    Author - Communications specialist
  • A screen shot from the seminar of apiculturist Juliana Rangel Posada of Texas A&M.
    Learning About the Bees and the Nutrition They Need

    If you missed the eagerly anticipated UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar by apiculturist Juliana Rangel Posada, an associate professor at Texas A&M and an international leader in honey bee research, not to worry. Her...


    By Kathy Keatley Garvey
    Author - Communications specialist