Bumbling Bee Native Wildflowers

07/05/2025

Anise hyssop & the pollinators 🥰

07/05/2025

Coming home today and looking at my garden, my first thought was, “There are so many weeds.” My second thought was, “There’s SO much LIFE!” So here are native plant and pollinator picture pictures from today. Plant native and you’re supporting an ecosystem. You’re supporting life.

07/05/2025

Snowberry Clearwing Moth on American Germander. I need a faster shutter speed than my iPhone to catch the cool wings!

07/04/2025

Spider milkweed is blooming. If everything goes right, we’ll have it this fall!!

A monarch from our yard yesterday. I had taken a nap due to a migraine and needed to get a package off the porch. When I saw the monarch, I definitely didn’t run around the front yard in my pjs to get these pictures. 🤣🤣🤣

07/04/2025

Monarch in the hoop house this morning. Released it. They fly in the big door but then don’t find it to fly back out I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️

07/03/2025

Some tall bellflower we planted at the beginning of November last year in a deep shade area. It was SO blue, but coming out purple in the picture. Maybe because it was twilight and even darker in the shade.

07/02/2025

Reminder: We are open Wednesdays from 4-7pm! 🦋

07/02/2025

If you saw my earlier post about the Xerces plan to save the butterflies and didn’t read it, then this podcast episode is for you!! (Also for me for later.)

You may already know that butterflies are in decline, but the speed at which it is happening may be surprising. Butterflies are being lost at a rate of 1.3% per year, which means more than one-fifth have disappeared over a 20-year period. These are just a couple of the alarming statistics that emerg...

07/01/2025

Plant native and support an entire ecosystem from your home. 🥰 Pictures from my yard today and the last two were yesterday.

07/01/2025

07/01/2025

Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) is a Nebraska native that does well in full sun to part shade and gets 3-5 ft tall.

The candelabra-like flowers open from the base of the bloom and move up, giving this plant an extended bloom time! It is most frequently white but can have pink or purple tones.

Also known as Black Root, the root is a powerful emetic, laxative, and cathartic. Apparently it helps release your emotions and bowels, so not to be eaten by the faint of heart!

The Xerces society has it listed as special value to native bees and honey bees. They mention that it provides blooms in the critical period where spring blooms are ending and summer blooms are beginning.

Interestingly, Xerces states that the fact that honey bees are hugely drawn to it also suggests that the nectar may be a high quality.

According to the Native Plant Trust, it is a host plant for the Buckeye Butterfly!

According to Penn State Extension, Culver’s Root is a species of conservation concern in 13 states (but don’t list which ones). It is threatened in two states and endangered in Vermont!

So know you know some cool factoids about Culver’s Root!