Garden Naturally Group

06/07/2026

It's ! 🦋🌼

🐝Did you know that the longer days of Summer give pollinators more time to forage for nectar? Pollinators like honey and native bees, monarch butterflies, wasps, and more are key to keeping our ecosystems intact by helping vital plants and crops reproduce.

Maintaining the complex ecosystem that keeps us alive and protects iconic pollinators requires leadership on all levels. In the past year alone, 553 acres of monarch habitat have been created or restored by the 275 mayors and heads of local government that completed the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge.

🦋That's roughly 553 football fields of new essential monarch habitat across the monarch’s breeding and migratory areas!

For over a decade now, local governments have stepped up to make wide-scale changes that benefit both people and wildlife. Learn more about why monarchs need mayors in our blog. 📲 https://ow.ly/2fVy50Z87yc

06/07/2026

(219/250) The blue dasher is a small, striking dragonfly often found near ponds, lakes and wetlands across much of the country. Watch for these fierce aerial predators patrolling over sunny waters in search of flying insects and mates.

Photo: Peter Pearsall/USFWS

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

My Christmas amaryllis is going to bloom outside!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

Lavender produces vibrant purple and blue flowers in summer, while offering valuable support for wildlife, especially when planted alongside Geranium 'Rozanne', Campanula and knapweed. Here’s everything you need to know about it:

💜 It's a critical source of nectar for many of the 280 species of bees in the UK. Having an abundance of rich nectar makes it an energy-efficient plant for bees to forage from. This is especially important for bumblebees and honeybees, which need large amounts of nectar to fuel flight and colony activity.

💜 The tubular flowers are ideally shaped for both short- and long-tongued bees - including solitary bees and bumblebees - enabling them to feed successfully.

💜 Hoverflies, butterflies and moths also feed on lavender nectar and its density provides shelter for insects from wind and predators. If you don't cut back its woody stems too early, it can also offer refuge for some insects in winter.

💜 Part of the Lamiaceae family, it thrives in dry, poor soils where many nectar plants struggle. Low-maintenance and drought-tolerant, it prefers full sun.

💜 The name Lavender comes from the Latin 'lavare', meaning to wash. The Romans used it to add scent to their baths, bedding, and clothing.

Find out more about boosting wildlife in your garden by growing lavender: https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-inspiration/plants-we-love/best-lavenders-for-bees

06/07/2026

Lupine fields forever Crow-Hassan Park Reserve near Rogers Minnesota