In the Garden

Swallowtail Butterfly in a Tennessee garden.

Basil and Butterflies

An herb garden filled with parsley is the perfect complement to both basil and butterflies. Fresh from the garden, parsley blended with basil makes a delicious Pesto Sauce. If you plant enough you can also gladly share your parsley with handsome caterpillars that will soon become Swallowtail Butterflies.

Ladybugs climb on the handle of a garden shovel and down onto the surround foliage.

Ladybugs, Our Garden Warriors, Released

Our annual order of ladybugs arrived in the mail right on schedule. Unfortunately summer in the Pacific Northwest did not. We finally released our eager eager visitors anyway, though I doubt many have hung around our uninviting backyard. Still these little ladybug warriors were able to coax a bright smile from my sun-starved complexion, even while I cowered in the kitchen to watch them.