Botanical Nerd Word: Culm
Culm: A hollow or pithy stalk or stem, as in the grasses, sedges, and rushes.* Besides adding winter interest to the garden, grasses provide homes for many native insects which overwinter …
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Botanical Nerd Word: Frass
Frass: The excrement of larvæ; also, the refuse left behind by boring insects.* This year’s huge populations of caterpillars are producing large amounts of caterpillar frass. While the caterpillars may be …
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Where do bugs go in winter?
We’ve exchanged our gardening gloves for fleece mittens and our leaf rakes for snow shovels. While we may have put away our equipment for the season, some very important garden …
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How can you tell a monarch from a viceroy butterfly?
Viceroy butterflies, which are not poisonous, copy the monarch’s colouring to protect themselves from predators. While a bird may not notice the difference, we can easily tell a viceroy from …
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