This show about our garden is a “repetey” from a couple years ago. Some things neve
r change, except, we have started using neem oil as a repellant and it is an effective organic way to deal with troublesome insects. Neem oil is derived from the seed of the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) native to parts of India. It is related, by the way, to the chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach), an exotic found all over urban southeastern Arizona in old landscapes. I’ve read that a pesticide can be made from its berries and seed as well. It might be well worth doing some homework if you have a chinaberry in your neighborhood and troublesome insects in your garden.
The pesky insects found around our home and garden and that are the stars of this show are the rose chafer (Macrodactylus uniformis), the squash bug (Anasa trista), and the harlequin bug (Murgatia histrionica). Now you know.
The first time I identified crimson sage (Salvia henryi) was years ago just outside Paradise in the Chiricahua Mountains. Marian and I were checking...
Where we live in southeastern Arizona it has been a very wet winter with rain out in the flats and snow in the hills...
False Solomon’s seal was formerly in the family Liliaceae, but is now in Asparagaceae. There are 2 subspecies of Maianthemum racemosum. The subspecies out...
