How I Got Started

I started Butterfly gardening many years ago. My yard has been a progression over the years, and has made many transformations. Twenty years ago I experienced Hurricane Andrew. My yard and house were destroyed. We decided not to replace the pool screening and open up the backyard and put in some landscaping. That was the official beginning of my love for gardening in South Florida. I added a beautiful water garden years ago, and have been adding host and larvae plants for pollinators, mostly for the butterfly, for as many years as I can remember. I had my yard certified as a Natural Habitat, through the National Wildlife Foundation. To have a natural habitat you need to provide and meet certain requirements: 1. Provide a food source, 2. Provide a water source, 3. Cover, 4. A place to raise young. I try not to use any pesticides in my yard. I vermicompost and recycle as many of my food scraps as possible. If I had more land I would have a huge compost bin to recycle all my yard cuttings. Basically, I try to lessen my carbon footprint on this earth. In my own little world or backyard I try to provide an ecosystem in my water garden, provide birdbaths, birdfeeders, hummingbird nectar sources, feeders, puddling areas, host plants and nectar plants for butterflies and other pollinators. I am hoping to raise everyone’s awareness of the importance of saving our Butterflies, Blooms & Bees. Without them our world and food source will be in trouble. I hope you all enjoy my journey. I am not a Master Gardener, or Master Beekeeper, an Entomologist, or Journalists. I am simply a Backyard Gardener who is trying to lessen her Carbon Footprint of this Earth.

I hope you enjoy my blogs.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine?

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine? Why Massive Bee Dieoffs May Be a Warning About Our Own Health

http://www.alternet.org/food/154039

What scientists are beginning to understand about the cause of colony collapse could be a message for all of us.

Monday, December 26, 2011

First Honey Harvest!

So excited, this was my first time harvesting honey.  It was kind of by accident.  One of the difficulties of managing TBH is manipulating the bars and making sure the comb stays straight.  It is called cross combing.  I am not really having a problem with cross combing but with very wide and heavy honey combs towards the back of the hive.  As I was moving one of the bars it was so heavy that I heard it drop.  It was definitely a little intimidating to have to reach in the hive and take out the comb with all the bees, but everything went fine.  I did receive one little sting through the glove, as there was a bee hiding on the cushion where I had the container with the honeycomb.  I didn’t see her and put my hand right on her.  The only way to harvest honey in a TBH is to crush and strain it.  It is a very easy procedure.  I simply put it in the colander and crushed it with a fork.  I got three beautiful jars of amber colored honey.  It tasted so delicious!


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