I saw my last wild honeybee about eight years ago, while I was still living in rural/semi-suburban Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  In my community, I was the only person lamenting that loss.  For years, I had watched my neighbors come out of their houses, arms swinging, with all manner of insecticides, spraying at anything and everything […]

Ever wonder why some places have lots of butterflies and others have few or none at all?  Various factors influence whether butterflies are attracted or even welcome in a habitat, so maybe we should focus on what we can do to encourage butterflies and adapt our gardens and landscapes so that they can attract and sustain […]

It doesn’t matter whether budding child gardeners are introduced to the joys of nature (dirt and bugs, especially) at home by parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, or at school by teachers who use gardening as participatory science lessons or exercises in building social skills.   Starting good gardening habits early improves the chances that our children […]

Community based gardening, in some form, has existed across the globe for millennia.  Necessity was quite frequently the driving force in rural areas, where community farmers worked together, in single or multiple cleared areas, to ensure that sufficient food was produced to feed the entire community. The soil was never allowed to be completely depleted […]

We already know that gardening is good for us humans, but when we are mindful of our surroundings, aka ecosystem, we can employ gardening practices that benefit the other living creatures, soil, air, and water around us.  Ecosystem gardening describes the practice of gardening that is sustainable, conserves resources, and fosters habitats for wildlife and […]