Backyard Orchard News
Here Come the Sun(Flowers)
You can't drive by a sunflower field without smiling. Their golden heads turned toward the sun,...
Honey bee heads for a sunflower in a field off Pedrick Road, Dixon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of honey bee foraging on a sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Row of hives along sunflower field on Pedrick Road, Dixon, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's Peering Over the Petals?
There are many reasons why honey bees don't come home at night. One of them: a stealthy praying...
Honey bee nectars a zinnia, unaware of a predator eyeing her every move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Coming up empty, the praying mantis stares at where the bee had been. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Honey of a Visit
When youngsters meet Alyssa Fine, the first thing they ask is “Do you ever get...
Beekeeper Brian Fishback shows Alyssa Fine the bee sculpture in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
American Honey Bee Queen Alyssa Fine watches a honey bee forage in the zinnias at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Share Your Harvest
In the summer when people have extra tomatoes, zucchini, peaches, apricots and their neighbors won't answer the door when you arrive with some to share- that's when they should check Community Food Bank's pantry list for the closest food pantry in their zip code. The food bank has a website - communityfoodbank.net or people can call them at 237-3663.
Fresno has been part of the nationwide effort called Plant A Row to Feed the Hungry since 2000. Plant a Row encourages home gardeners to plant an extra row in their garden and share their bounty with food pantries and soup kitchens. Locally we collect more than 30,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables for the food bank and provide several free classes at the Garden of the Sun.
**Our next free class is Square Foot Gardening on 9/29/12 about gardening in small spaces, taught by Master Gardeners at the Garden of the Sun.
I have donated to Hope Lutheran, the Pinedale Good Neighbor Center, and the Evangel Home. People's faces light up when you arrive with fresh fruit or produce.
Are Bees Finding the 'Zen' in Zinnias?
Eye-catching zinnias grace the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, the half-acre bee friendly...
Honey bee nectaring on a zinnia in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee foraging on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Circling a zinnia blossom, a honey bee seeks food for her colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)