This is an amazing solution to a plant problem. Big fat hungry aphids are gobbling away on the plants, sucking and deforming the leaves and getting out of control. This little parasitic wasp is released and is attracted to the aphid colonies immediately. It begins to lay its eggs inside of aphids and will attack 200-300 aphids in the next week. Yes, parasitism is slightly … Continue reading Aphidius matricariae–A Beneficial Bug
This is what people think about Washington—It rains all the time, the skies are always gray, everything is gray, we all wear gray polar fleece and disappear into the fog, hibernating most of the winter. Don’t let out our little secret, but this is what it’s really like in Washington in January. There are flowers, bright and beautiful, teasing us out of winter. I just … Continue reading Washington’s Best Kept Secret
Now that I’m working at the Horticultural Program at Lake Washington Institute of Technology I have access to a greenhouse. The students grow all types of crops, from vegetables to fuchsia baskets to perennials. The season is in full swing and I’ve been learning a lot about greenhouse growing. Everything is different inside. Watering and controlling pests and diseases takes on a new perspective from … Continue reading Baby Monkey
It all started as a small idea. This blog was like a seed. Small, yet full of potential. Someone at work mentioned blogging and I thought….’could that be me?….could I become a blogger?…could I create a blog?’ I remember actually checking a book out of the library about blogging and discussing it over lunch with my friend Rachel. Two things I remember from the book were … Continue reading Blogiversary 3 Years!
Have you ever had a book you’ve waited years to read? This is mine. I remember seeing it at Borders Bookstore when it first came out in 2010. I picked it up, read the back, and flipped through the pages. It was in the Northwest Natural History section, right by the front of the store. Near Wheedle on the Needle and Plants of the Pacific Northwest … Continue reading Book Review – The Collector by Jack Nisbet
Rainyleaf 