Explore Garden Wildlife

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

By: Meriel Bradley Hummingbird moths fly and feed during the day, so if you are lucky enough to attract them into your garden you are in for a treat - they are absolutely amazing to watch. I had quite a time getting some pictures to share as they are very busy and...

Candy Striped Spider

Candy Striped Spider

By: Meriel Bradley This was an interesting find on the speedwell in my garden - a Candy Striped Spider. According to Wikipedia, it is: Native to Europe and has been introduced to North America a long time ago Belongs to the family Theridiidae It's not a very big...

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

By: Meriel Bradley The Black Swallowtail Butterfly is so beautiful with an impressive wingspan of about 4 inches. It doesn't land in one spot for very long so is quite hard to capture, but it finally landed in my vegetable garden on a mulch path just long enough for...

Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle

Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle

By: Meriel Bradley Growing up our garden was full of butterflies and bees and I am working to build out my garden from a new home build of nothing but a grassy lawn into a haven for local butterflies, bees, and birds. The Monarch butterfly is one of the most striking...

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

By: Meriel Bradley I love seeing dragonflies in the garden, not just for their beauty, but as they patrol back and forth across the garden, I know they are helping keep the mosquito population down. They start life in the water where the female dragonflies lay their...

American Toad

American Toad

By: Meriel Bradley I found this beauty while raking the leaves this fall. The American Toad is a large, squat toad that lives in ponds during their breeding season, and then they hibernate on land in the winter and burrow beneath the frost line in the soil. The...

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar

By: Meriel Bradley I plant my organic garden to attract birds, butterflies, and bees. With this in mind, this year I planted dill as well as parsley in my flowerbeds to see if I could attract the beautiful black swallowtail butterfly as these are really easy to grow...

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

By: Meriel Bradley I was thrilled to have this Canadian Tiger Swallowtail visit my garden. It took me on quite a chase but finally settled long enough so I could capture this picture. The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly can be found around evergreen and deciduous...

A Bee Friendly Garden

A Bee Friendly Garden

Tips for a bee friendly garden:
Choose native plants, trees, and shrubs rich in pollen and nectar
Provide continuous bloom so you always have plants blooming from spring until fall
Many native bees build nests in soil, so leave some bare patches and limit your use of mulch
Provide fresh water
Make or buy a bee house
Don’t spray pesticides – garden organically

Green Bush Cricket

Green Bush Cricket

I found this Green Bush Cricket on my Delphiniums and had to get a picture – the colour combination of his green and the blue of the flowers is magnificent. I hope you enjoy the picture as much as I do.

Cosmos

By: Meriel Bradley Cosmos are annual flowers with bright daisy-like flowers on long, slender stems. They bloom all summer and attract birds, bees, and butterflies to the garden. You can grow them from seed by direct sowing after the last frost. They will also...

Growing Carrots

By: Meriel Bradley Carrots are easy to grow from seed once you get the hang of the basics. Carrot seed can be planted directly in the ground once the soil can be worked in early spring. I'm in zone 5 and I can generally get my first seeds in around the 2nd or 3rd week...

Dakota Pinnacle Birch

By: Meriel Bradley Developed in North Dakota, this is a hardy cultivar of Japanese White Birch. Growing in a graceful slender column to 25 ft. tall by only 10 ft. wide this tree is a lovely choice for a small garden. In March or April, the tree is covered with long...

Lemon Coral Sedum

By: Meriel Bradley Lemon Coral Sedum is a very easy plant to grow, and believe it or not it keeps its colour through the winter, and although it looks spiky it's actually quite soft to the touch. It's supposed to be an annual in my zone 5 garden, but it seems to...

Seven-Son Flower

Zone 6Height 15 feetLight: sun to part shadeBy: Meriel Bradley Seven-Son Flower is a beautiful and unusual tree or large shrub. It is unique as it flowers in late summer with clusters of very fragrant creamy-white flowers at the ends of the branches from late summer...

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

By: Meriel Bradley Hummingbird moths fly and feed during the day, so if you are lucky enough to attract them into your garden you are in for a treat - they are absolutely amazing to watch. I had quite a time getting some pictures to share as they are very busy and...

Top Gardening Picks

Hi, I’m Meriel

Welcome to my creative space. I’m very happy to have you here!

This space is for all the foodies out there - all of you who love to browse cookbooks and recipe sites for inspiration, try new foods and learn new things about food and cooking.

And equally, this space is for all the garden lovers – all the folks who love to get their hands dirty in the garden and watch their plants grow and thrive.

Enjoy browsing!

Meriel x

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