The Stanislaus Sprout

On Saturday, October 15, UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardeners Rhonda Allen and Denise Godbout-Avant will give a talk about the monarch butterfly.

Throughout history bats have been objects of fear, hostility, and myths, largely due to their nocturnal, mysterious behavior. Horror movies and media exaggerations has led people to believe they are dangerous disease-ridden blood suckers. The truth is very different.

Succulent plants come in a plethora of sizes, shapes, and colors.

Starting around mid-August through September, both the Western Monarch and Eastern Monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus) begin their long journey south from southern Canada and northern USA to their overwintering sites in coastal California and Mexico.

I've noticed over the years that by the end of August, gardeners like myself, and sometimes their gardens too, often reach a state of sticky, sweaty, overheated and aphid-covered exhaustion.