Fall flowers for beauty and pollinators

Monarch on fall-blooming New England Asters

The calendar says we’ve just entered autumn, but as far as pollinators are concerned, the bounty of summer is long past. The dearth of nectar that follows the wealth of mid-summer flowers has been underway for a while. But pollinators, such as bees and butterflies (including migrating Monarchs), still need high-quality nectar sources on which to feed. In recent years, I've made it a mission to cultivate autumn-blooming flowers for pollinators.

Aphids invaded my milkweed

I’ve heard of it happening to others. But it has never happened to me…until this year. My milkweed plants are covered with hundreds of tiny orange-yellow aphids, creatures that I’d probably find cute under different circumstances. However, their infestation has made my milkweed inhospitable for wayfaring Monarch butterflies.

Applying pesticides isn’t an option, especially not in a pollinator garden.

A Tale of Two Road Trips

If at first you don’t succeed...

 This is my Mea Culpa for not succeeding, or rather my Mea Cuppa, because my failure was using too many disposable cups on a recent road trip.

In the past month and half, I’ve taken two multi-day trips.  On the first, I used a number of disposable, single-use cups.  But I learned from this and reduced my use of disposable cups on the second trip.

Coffee with a shot of conservation, Part 2

Which coffee to choose?

Bird Friendly. Fairtrade. Shade Grown.  Rainforest Alliance Certified. Coffee comes with a bewildering array of labels and I’ve never been sure exactly what they mean. What I do know is that how coffee is grown matters to the environment—and more. To help my decision about what coffee to buy, I decided to look into what those labels mean.

Was my coffee grown in a “desert” or in a rainforest?  

Coffee isn’t really grown in deserts, but clear-cut coffee plantations can be biological “deserts” in the sense that many species usually found in rainforests are missing.

Coffee with a shot of conservation: Part 1

Home or Away? 

I love foo-foo coffee drinks, coffee concoctions as smooth, thick, and scrumptious as melted ice cream—with flavored syrup, whipped-cream toppings, chocolate shavings—the works. That’s caffeinated comfort food!   But the coffee drinks I buy away from home aren’t good for my wallet, my health, or for the environment. 

Dandelion Whine

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ryan Hagerty

I suspect I’m not the first to employ this pun; probably many have used it before me. But, unlike many, I don’t whine about having dandelions in the yard, rather about our obsession with getting rid of dandelions and having perfect lawns.

Before society labeled dandelions as undesirable weeds, they often were planted as garden flowers. And indeed, a field of dandelions in bloom can be quite lovely. 

Creative Commons 2.0, Roger Kidd

Embracing the tortoise

More than a few years ago, I decided to try to live a less environmentally damaging lifestyle. So, I don’t use pesticides on my lawn, I carry my own refillable water bottle, I bring reusable bags when I shop, and I don’t eat meat. I try to be green. But I still throw batteries in the trash, drive most places I go, and buy organic berries in plastic clamshells. In so many ways, I live a typical American lifestyle that is far from environmentally friendly.

As I try to adopt a greener lifestyle, I’ve discovered that it’s a steady journey of small steps rather than a quick sprint to a destination. I’m finding that emulating the fabled tortoise, and not the hare, works better for me—and I hope for the environment. I’m taking small, deliberate steps, rather than making large, lightning-fast changes that easily fade.