Gratitude Gourmet

It’s Time To Start Thinking About Your Cool Season Garden!

We are fortunate to be able to grow vegetables year round in Santa Clara County — just try to resist the urge to brag about that to your friends and family in the Midwest or New England 😉

Take a look at our vegetable planting chart to see what you can grow: https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/vegetables/vegetable-planting-chart/

Definitely consider adding some cilantro to your garden beds. It doesn’t bolt in the fall and winter like it does in the summer months. You can have lots of Taco Tuesdays in January & February!! Pro tip: plant it from seeds rather than seedlings. Just keep the area moist while it’s germinating. Need limes for your Taco Tuesdays in January/February? That’s also when the Bearss limes are ripe! Consider planting one of those before winter’s chilly days set in.

Certain fall flowers in California only work from seed if they go in before a specific point in late summer. Miss that window and the bloom timing doesn't recover.

Some California native perennials perform noticeably worse under constant attention. Stepping back is exactly what lets them hit their stride.

❤️ Every animal soul is to be admired and respected.

During his landmark Labyrinth on the Thames show in Greenwich, music icon Moby paused to share a deeply poignant, unpublished video message sent to him by the late ethologist Dr. Jane Goodall shortly before her passing ❤️

Per Senator Alex Padilla:
BREAKING: The Trump administration is coming after our shoreline to develop oil and gas production.
We can’t let them sacrifice our shores because of Trump’s unlawful war in Iran that’s driving energy prices up.
*** California, send a comment to [email protected] by Friday, August 22nd protesting Trump’s take over — it’s time we raise our voices and fight to protect our coasts NOW.

Californians Criticize Federal Efforts to Control the State’s Coast Environmentalists and others warned at a hearing on Monday that the Trump administration’s attempt to strip power from California’s coastal protection agency would endanger the shoreline.

Creating a Pollinator Garden: Plant In 3’x3’ Groups Of The Same Flowers

The UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab tells us a tip for creating a habitat garden:

“We have found that large patches of one single plant type are the most attractive to bees as well as butterflies. If you have the space, a patch size of at least one meter by one meter should be designated for each plant species. The patches provide more resources (nectar and pollen rewards) and allow bees to forage in one spot for a long period of time. If plants are scattered, it means bees have to spend a lot of energy flying from one plant to the next making them less efficient pollinators and harder to observe at work in the flowers.”

Photo: Clarkia blooms

Plant trees and plants that attract birds and of course what they eat ❤️🌲🌸

Birdsong may be doing more for us than we realize 🐦🎶

In a new experiment, people who listened to birdsong reported lower stress, better moods, and a stronger sense of restoration. Researchers tested the sounds in both a restored urban forest and a paved plaza, finding that birdsong had benefits in either setting.

The strongest results came when birdsong was paired with the forest, suggesting that healthy bird communities can make green spaces feel even more restorative. Researchers say designing city parks with birds in mind could benefit both wildlife and the people who spend time there.

Saturday was National Sunflower Day!

National Sunflower Day is celebrated on the first Saturday of August each year.

Did you know that sunflowers have hidden patterns of ultraviolet colors that are visible to pollinators.

As much as we appreciate the beauty and diversity of flowers, it is quite literally not meant for our eyes.

The purpose of flowers is to attract pollinators, and it is to their senses that flowers cater.

A clear example of this are ultraviolet (UV) patterns. Many flowers accumulate UV pigments in their petals, forming patterns that are invisible to us, but that most pollinators can see.

https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/tag/flower+color