Dill Weed in Your Garden by Jeffrey Blake

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Dill weed (Anethum graveolens) is a valuable addition to your garden because of its culinary versatility, its ability to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, its low-maintenance nature, and its potential medicinal uses. Whether you're an avid cook or simply want to enhance your garden's biodiversity and aesthetics, dill is an herb worth considering for your garden space.

Attracting Pollinators with Bee Balm by Jeffrey Blake

 

Scarlett Bee Balm 

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Bee Balm (Monarda spp.), also known as wild bergamot or horsemint, is a popular garden plant that is excellent for attracting pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Here are several reasons why Bee Balm is a great choice for attracting these beneficial insects:

How to Attract Mason Bees and Keep Them in Your Garden by Cheryl Kaumeyer Wethey

 

Note nesting tubes that are being plugged with mud. 
All photos by Cheryl Kaumeyer Wethey

Solitary Bees make up 70% of the bee population in Colorado.   Included in this category are Mason Bees, members of Osmia lignaria species.   The Mason Bee gets its name from its characteristic behavior of incorporating mud like a brick mason in building and sealing their nests. 

Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference 2021 by Nancy Shepard

Scrophularia macrantha (Red Birds in a Tree)

I attended the Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants conference on February 27^th, a day-long conference attended online by over 300 people. With 10 presentations from leading experts in the field, it was an impressive array of topics including which natives do well in the home landscape, where to buy them, and what they need to thrive. Among the many presenters were Jim Tolstrup, Executive Director, High Plains Environmental Center, Marcia Tatroe, whose photography and gardens have been featured in numerous books, magazines and televised gardening shows, David Salman, Chief Horticulturist for High Country Gardens, Alison Peck who created a landscape design/build company inspired by permaculture and edible landscapes, and Lisa Olsen, Chapter President of Front Range Wild Ones and a certified Native Plant Master.