by Leslie Cox; Friday; April 5, 2024 Our first Rufous male hummingbird arrived this week. He greeted me from his perch in the berberis outside the living room window. It is my understanding these migratory hummingbirds always return to the territory they establish near to where they were born. And true to form, he started his “J” mating dive yesterday afternoon. A female Rufous must have arrived who I have not spotted yet ..read more

by Leslie Cox; April 2, 2024 You just never know how the weather is going to treat your garden from year to year or even month to month.                                                                      Back garden – April 1, 2023                                                       ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Monday; April 1, 2024 Did you know…             … goosebumps are caused by a muscle?  At the base of every hair follicle are tiny fan-shaped muscles called arrector pili. These muscles contract when the body is cold in an effort to warm the body up and cause a person’s hair to “stand up straight” on their skin…aka goosebumps. My arrector pili muscles (APM) also tickle up goosebumps when I see a beautiful plant ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Sunday; March 31, 2024 I really do believe that God is love, one of deep affectionand grace and forgiveness and inspiration.  ~ William P. Young September 1999 – part of our first harvest as new farmers in the Comox Valley Farmers Market Twenty years later – these three photos show what love has accomplished in our garden   ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Friday; March 29, 2024 Mourning Cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa) This is a rare visitor to our garden. I would have to look back in my photo files but we think it has been about seven years since this butterfly species has made an appearance. And it definitely loves the Pieris japonica because each time we spotted it over 2 – 3 days it was feasting on the flowers. The second photo below shows the underside of its wings. Very unique as the pattern closely resembles tree bark when the wings are completely folded together ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Tuesday; March 19, 2024 Saw my first honey bee of the season ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Monday; March 18, 2024 Did you know…                      …. Iris means “rainbow” in Greek, and Iris was goddess of the rainbow in Greek mythology?     ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Sunday; March 17, 2024 May your troubles be less. And your blessings be more.And nothing but happiness come through your door.  ~ Irish Blessing Sadie welcomes you to our garden ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Tuesday; March 12, 2024 A new offspring of this delightful spring plant, Pulmonaria longifolium ‘Bertram Anderson’, has appeared in the garden. It even has a single tiny flower bud which will be adding its beauty to these blooms ..read more

by Leslie Cox; Monday; March 11, 2024 Did you know…                             …this beetle is a Good Guy in the garden? This is Scaphinotus angusticollis, more commonly called the narrow-collared snail-eating beetle, and you really want to encourage this beneficial insect into your garden beds. It will do a lot of beneath-the-scenes work in keeping the population of plant-damaging snails under control. Ergo, the more narrow-collared beetles you have in your garden, the fewer snails, thus the more pristine plants. A win-win ..read more