Butterfly Garden News

Working in a children’s garden, I have realized that some seeds are better than others for small hands. If you are working with children, here is a list of seeds their hands can easily handle.
Squash/Gourds
Beans
Peas
Sunflowers
Something to remember is that the larger the seed the deeper it will need to be planted. As a general rule, […]

1. Fill a liter jar with 1/3 soil to be tested.
2. Fill the jar 2/3 with water and add 1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent or table salt.
3. Shake the jar thoroughly and let the contents settle overnight (at the very least) or several days (for the best measurements..
4. Measure the depths of the […]

We welcome the combined efforts of the County of Lake, the City of Clearlake, the Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC), the Konocti Unified School District (KUSD) and the Lake County Community Co-op in creating a community garden at the Senior Center in Clearlake. With $40,000 seed money from the County of Lake, this project will […]

Cob – A Natural Alternative
Photos / Article © 2009 Andrea Anderson
Cob has been used for centuries as a natural building material. A type of free form adobe, cob structures built hundreds of years ago are still standing in many parts of the world. It is both cheap and ecologically sound, not to mention strong. Made […]

© 2007 Andrea Anderson
Sorghum sp. bicolor or “Broom Corn” is currently used in the creation flower arrangements, basketry and brooms, due to its color and structure. Although broom corn stems dry to be of a straw like color and consistency, the seeds can be quite colorful, ranging from different reds, oranges, yellows, purples to black. […]

We have an idea for easy earth friendly plant tags.
You can recycle venetian blinds and use them as plant tags by cutting them to about six inches in length. Then, make a V cut on the end (to help push them into the ground). When labeling them, first use an old standard ball point pen. […]

© 2007 Andrea Anderson
Common butterfly habitat mistakes can mean the life or death of your caterpillar/butterfly. So, I have created a list of common mistakes which are made when raising them.
1) Do not put caterpillars in a glass or plastic container. As I mentioned in my previous article, this is a good way to cook […]

© 2007 Andrea Anderson
A great project to teach children to protect and respect nature and to give them a bit of perspective on their own life is to allow them to watch caterpillars turn into butterflies.We have a safe way to do this, without harming the caterpillars or butterflies.

Monarch Butterfly and Chrysalis
© 2007 Andrea […]