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.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Butterfly World

I spent a beautiful day at Butterfly World.  If you are from South Florida and haven’t been to Butterfly World you are truly missing a wonderful experience.  I have been there many times and it is absolutely a beautiful place to visit.  There are butterflies everywhere and the landscaping if magnificent.  I am an annual member.  I go there often for their plants.  They are a little expensive but so worth it.  They have plants that you can’t always find other places.  Here are a few pictures from my day at Butterfly World.  



Friday, March 23, 2012

Swarm Capture


My neighbor called me and said my bees were in their yard.  I checked my splits very quickly. They looked fine and the population and queens were present.  My neighbor is always in her yard with her dog so this had to be a new swarm.  My friends made a bee vacuum and we were able to capture the swarm and the queen.  Here are some pictures of the swarm.  I found out afterwards that you really shouldn’t use a bee vacuum unless you are doing a cut out.  My friends just built this bee vacuum and were excited to use it. It is much safer for the bees to use some diluted sugar water with a little vanilla.  The bees were fine and are doing well.  There is nothing better than a nice feral swarm.  


Pesticide Action Network


 

Today, PAN joined beekeepers and partners Beyond Pesticides and Center for Food Safety in filing a legal petition that calls on EPA to suspend registration of Bayer’s controversial bee-toxic pesticide, clothianidin

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Made By Hand Video


A must-watch! I absolutely love this video.  First of all it is beautifully made.   I feel like she inspires me to be a good beekeeper, and that maybe someday it will be more natural.  I watch this video very frequently hoping to someday be so comfortable.  Right now everything is so new and I find myself thinking instead of just being at one with the bees. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Bee Flags & Pictures of Hives


Completed the second split on 3/17.  The split hives are looking good.  I will check the queenless hives on the weekend to see if I see any queen cells. I hung these really pretty flags in the yard today that I got from Etsy, from an artist by the name of Miranda Gray.  I really like them!  


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