San Francisco

Are you looking for a showy, drought tolerant plant that blooms profusely and attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators? You might like to try Aloes! They range in size from six-inch houseplants to tall trees. In the past, people mostly grew small aloes indoors for their medicinal properties.

"What are YOU doing here?" It was Saturday morning, Jan. 23, and the monarch caterpillar seemed to be sunning itself on a milkweed leaf in our family's pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif., a Solano County city situated between San Francisco and Sacramento. Yes, Saturday, Jan. 23.

February is Black History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Celebrate with ANR colleagues on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in February.

Louise Pagone Lake County lpagone@ucanr.edu Louise Pagone joined UC Cooperative Extension in Lake County as the new program coordinator for the UC Master Gardener Program in Nov. 2020. Pagone was born in San Francisco and raised in Marin County.

Lynn W. Gallagher, retired project scientist and barley breeder at UC Davis, died on Dec. 15, 2020. He was 77. Gallagher was born in San Francisco and raised in Marin County. He earned a B.A. in political science at UC Davis with his sights set on a law career.

A UC Davis postdoctoral researcher who studied with global bumble bee authority Robbin Thorp is fittingly the winner of the Bohart Museum of Entomology's inaugural Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest.

Douglas Amaral is the new pomology, water and soils advisor in Kings and Tulare counties Douglas Amaral joined UCCE in Kings and Tulare counties as pomology, water and soils advisor on Oct. 1, 2020.

Seen any bumble bees lately in Yolo or Solano counties? If so, and if you photograph the first one of the year, you might win the Bohart Museum of Entomology's contest.

Be on the lookout for the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo and Solano counties.

Boxwood. You see it all over and for good reason. They are oh so versatile, easy to prune and shape, and a lovely bright green. They've been a mainstay of residential and commercial landscapes for as long as I can remember.