UC Gardening Blogs

Backyard Helpers

Praying mantids are well-known predators we often see lurking around gardens, landscapes, and...

Adult mantis. (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)

Adult mantis. (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)

Art Shapiro: Worst Monarch Season Ever, But Best MIlkweed Season Ever

This year ranks as the worst monarch season he's ever seen in California. But...this year ranks as...

A female monarch butterfly nectaring in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch butterfly nectaring in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, fields questions at the May 26 Butterfly Summit, held at Annie's Annuals and Perennials, Richmond. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, fields questions at the May 26 Butterfly Summit, held at Annie's Annuals and Perennials, Richmond. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What Makes a Plant Drought Tolerant?

By Laura Lukes, UC Master Gardener of Butte County, September 7, 2018 You've seen these terms...

Once Upon a Praying Mantis...

The three men pause in front of the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at the Sonoma Cornerstone and begin...

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa (as identified by praying mantis expert and UC Davis student Lohit Garikipati) is camouflaged in the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa (as identified by praying mantis expert and UC Davis student Lohit Garikipati) is camouflaged in the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Whoa! No pictures!" The female mantis raises her spiked leg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Whoa! No pictures!" The female mantis raises her spiked leg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I said no pictures!" The mantis covers her head with a spiked foreleg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I said no pictures!" The mantis covers her head with a spiked foreleg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sign informs visitors what the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at Sonoma Cornerstone is all about. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sign informs visitors what the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at Sonoma Cornerstone is all about. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A visitor takes images of the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A visitor takes images of the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden, Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meet Wendy Mather of California Master Beekeeper Program

Meet Wendy Mather, program manager of California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) Bees are her...

Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, holds a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, holds a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, at her office in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, at her office in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wendy Mather talks bees with Amador County students who signed up for a UC Davis Pollination Education Program. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wendy Mather talks bees with Amador County students who signed up for a UC Davis Pollination Education Program. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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