Image by Judy Beth Morris on Unsplash. Monarch butterfly taking in some nectar from a butterfly bush cluster and a blurred background.

Image by AJ Joy of a monarch caterpillar eating its way through a milkweed leaf.

🦋Only ONE monarch at Goleta’s Butterfly Grove today

Storm damage has been rough, but habitat restoration is happening there - preparing for new native trees and plants

🌿At your home, please plant a native plant if you can - it truly helps
#PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants #MonarchMilkweed

Dense thicket of plants with pink flowers spiking upwards. Image by Dennis Mudd.

🌿Hummingbird sage has deep roots with the Chumash people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Santa Barbara region

They used the leaves to make a medicinal tea for treating lung congestion and sore throats⚕️
#GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild #HummingbirdSage

Close up of stinging nettle leaves in a bunch Image by Paul Morley

🌿Despite its painful sting, California’s native nettle is an important host plant for several butterfly and moth species

Caterpillar species like the Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and the Garden Tiger Moth rely on it as a food source

🍵And we make tea with it
#GrowNativePlants #Nettle #PollinatorGarden

Ceanothus "California Lilac" blossoming in nature

🌿It's Ceanothus season

Indigenous Californians used the flowers and seed pods as a gentle soap for centuries

Pick a small cluster of blossoms

Add a little water and rub your hands together

Result: It creates a natural, fragrant lather!
#GrowNativePlants #Ceanothus #TheNativeGuild

Two ravens enjoying a moment together on a wire.

🌿Crows and ravens cache food—nuts, acorns, seeds—and often forget some of their hiding spots

Those forgotten caches sprout into new plants, helping native shrubs and trees spread naturally

Oaks, pines, and many chaparral species benefit from this behavior
#PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants

Cleveland Sage close up that has dusty green foliage and purple flowers

A corner yard filled with bushy native plants full of blossoms

🌿Cleveland sage

My favorite💖 native plant.

It smells soooo good and is always teaming with pollinators! 🦋🐝🐞
#PollinatorGarden #ClevelandSage #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild

Bumblebee getting intimate with the yellow center of a white flower. Background is blurred. Image by Kristine Zale.

🐝Bumblebees perform "buzz pollination"

They grab onto a flower & vibrate their flight muscles at a high-pitched middle C frequency, shaking the pollen loose

Without it, many of our favorite native plants wouldn't be able to reproduce!
#GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild #Bumblebees #PollinatorGarden

Monarch butterfly enjoying a pink puffball clover flower with a blurred background. Image by rfotostock.

🦋In early February, Migrating Monarchs are shifting from "survival mode" to "action mode"

Leaving overwintering sites to find water and nectar

The "super generation" (which has lived for 6–9 months!) is preparing for its final mission

Ready to lay eggs as soon as they head north
#GrowNativePlants

Image by Victoria Orozco. Native California Poppies wide open

Dense field of California Poppies in the sun.

🌿California Poppy is EVERYWHERE already

Every evening, or even on particularly cloudy and cold days, California poppies curl up their petals and "go to sleep"

They only open back up when the sun is bright and the temperature is warm enough to attract pollinators
#CaliforniaPoppy #GrowNativePlants

Dudleya succulent with new arms raising toward the sun

Dudleya succulent with new arms growing and lots of shadows

🌿Dudleya "Live-Forevers"

They are a perfect example of the Fibonacci sequence in nature

Their leaves grow in a tight spiral pattern that ensures every single leaf gets maximum exposure to sunlight and channeled water without shading out the ones below it
#GrowNativePlants #Dudleya #TheNativeGuild

Smallish toyon tree filled with red berries

Toyon tree filled with red berries

🍒Toyon - Wildlife Magnet

Clusters of bright red berries feed mockingbirds, robins, cedar waxwings, coyotes, and even bears

Its bright red winter berries once covered the hills around Los Angeles so vividly that early settlers called the area the holly woods
#GrowNativePlants #Toyon #TheNativeGuild

Tidy tips growing in the sun. Yellow flower with white edges.

🌿Native CA Tidy Tips

They are:
Easy to grow
Attract pollinators
Their succulent-like stems store water
Require very little maintenance
Bloom reliably in cool spring weather
So beautiful that British gardeners help spread their popularity
#GrowNativePlants #TidyTips #TheNativeGuild #PollinatorGarden

Yard with grass/weeds behind a white picket fence, and a house in the background

Yard with Manzanita, sage, and ceanothus growing behind a white picket fence.

🌿Both yards look nice

Left yard:
Needs to be mowed & weeded
Needs consistent watering
Provides nothing for pollinators

Right yard:
Provides habitat for all kinds of pollinators
Provides food for pollinators
Once established, requires little care, and even less water
#GrowNativePlants #Pollinators

Pink flowering currant bush blossoming in the native garden

Verbena de la Mina in full bloom in the native garden

Red Sage blooming in the native garden

Dara's Choice Sage blooming in front of a Ceanothus tree.

🌿What's flowering in the native garden right now?

Here are a handful of beauties to bring color to your garden during the winter in Santa Barbara County:

Cleveland Sage

Red Sage

'Dara’s Choice' Sage

Verbena 'De La Mina'

Pink Flowering Currant

Pollinators are happy here 💖🐝
#GrowNativePlants

Close-up of a manzanita tree with 'little apple' blossoms all over it

Sculptural beauty of a young Manzanita tree growing in a yard with a fence

💖Manzanita - Winter Hero

On a sunny winter day, they often give off a delicate, honey-like fragrance - attracting pollinators

The primary food source for California's non-migratory hummingbirds (like the Anna's Hummingbird) and early-emerging native bees 🐝
#GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden

Bumblebee enjoying the sweet sweet nectar from Manzanita blossoms this winter

🐝Bumblebee enjoying the sweet sweet nectar from Manzanita blossoms this winter
#PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild #Invertebrates #Manzanita #Bumblebee #NativePlants

Turtle climbing onto a large rock in the pond at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden with reeds in the background

💡If you are thinking of starting a native garden...

🌿Santa Barbara Botanic Garden offers one-on-one home consultation

🟢 They assess your existing landscaping
🟢 Ask about your goals
🟢 Give you personalized resources

✨It's a magical place where you'll find inspiration
#SBBG #GrowNativePlants

Monarch butterfly approaching thistle with a blurred background. Image by Gary Bendig

Today's Noozhawk Headline...

"Biologists Find Only 2 Butterflies in Late-Season Count at Ellwood Mesa"

Last year - the count was 4

If you live in Santa Barbara County, please plant at least ONE food source to help their survival💖🦋
#MonarchButterfly #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #GrowNatives

Two monarch butterflies enjoying some native flowers Image by kevindvt

🦋Master the "1-Mile Milkweed Rule"

Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed, but planting it incorrectly can actually harm them

If you live within 1-Mile from the CA coast, it's recommended to NOT plant it

🌿Instead - plant native plants for nourishment on their journey
#GrowNativePlants #Monarchs

Monarch butterfly on milkweed blossom

💖Help researchers track the health of local pollinator populations with these orgs:

🦋Western Monarch Count: www.inaturalist.org
🐝Bumble Bee Atlas: www.bumblebeeatlas.org
🌿Free Habitat Kits: xerces.org/pollinator-c...
#PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild

Black beetle on leaf litter with a blurred background Image by ReakAKP

Frosty leaves on the ground with a blurred background Image by SilviaRita

🌿Practice Lazy Gardening

🍂Leave the Leaves: Many native bees and butterfly larvae overwinter in leaf litter

🐝Save the Stems: many solitary bees nest inside hollow stems

Bare Dirt is Good: About 70% of California’s native bees nest underground
#GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Honeybee bathing in pollen from a yellow flower, with a blurred background. Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

Sparkler lit up with a blurred background. Image by Alicja from Pixabay

Happy New Year, Bluesky! 🐞🐝🦋🪲

Thank you for the support and everyone's kindness on this platform💖
#HappyNewYear #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Look who I found in the garden today🥰

A Walking Stick insect - the living "phantom"

If you see one, it’s a sign that your garden's ecosystem is healthy and pesticide-free!
#TheNativeGuild #PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants #WalkingStickInsect #StickInsects

HNP - Homegrown National Park - Regenerate Biodiversity Homegrown National Park is helping to regenerate biodiversity one yard at a time with a simple, science-based, and measurable solution for every

🌿Native Plant Curious?

Check out these two extremely helpful resources (especially if you live in California):

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens
sbbotanicgarden.org

and

Homegrown National Park
homegrownnationalpark.org
#GrowNativePlants #HomegrownNationalPark #SBBotanicGarden #TheNativeGuild

Native garden with ceanothus, sage, and verbena de la mina

White sage in native garden

💥Native plants are California’s quiet superheroes

🌧️When heavy rain hits—like what we just experienced—native plants act as a natural buffer by stabilizing the soil and creating channels for the water to soak into

This reduces runoff pollution💖
#GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Manzanita tree growing in lawn-less garden

🌿Many Californians are actively evaluating lawns for water use, maintenance burden, and ecological impact, and choosing native plantings instead

This shift is happening at both the household level and through community restoration projects💖
#GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Native garden featuring Verbena de la Mina, Ceanothus, Dudleya, et al

🌿California is trending toward healthier land - especially where native plants are being restored

It's a vital strategy to combat soil degradation, conserve water, and bolster biodiversity, and it’s increasingly being adopted across the state
#GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Monarch butterfly on top of native milkweed. Image by Natalia Jones

🌿California is choosing to go native

💦Homeowners across the state are “ripping out their thirsty grass lawns and replacing them with beautiful native plants that need far less water,” driven by drought, water costs, and environmental awareness💖
#GrowNativePlants #PolliinatorGarden #TheNativeGuild

Toyon tree beginning to develop "Christmas Berries"

Toyon "Christmas Berries" in full display Image by Andie Kolbeck

🍒Christmas Berry

☀️For the Chumash, the winter solstice marks the "Day of the New Sun" - when the "Old Sun" is pulled back from the brink of darkness to ensure the return of longer days

🌿Several native plants, shrubs & trees are involved, including Toyon
#Toyon #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild

Matilija poppy plant in full bloom during a hot summer day.

Matilija Poppy🌼

Fall or Winter is the best time to plant

They are extremely sensitive to root disturbance, so handle the root ball very carefully

But, once settled, they are very aggressive growers, spreading rapidly by underground runners (rhizomes)
#MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #Pollinators