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Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

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insects

Cicada Killing Wasps Are Back!

August 28, 2020 By Carol Michel 2 Comments

This is my best insect photo ever, taken about 10 years ago in my own backyard.What are you seeing there, you ask? What you are seeing is a cicada killing wasp actually stinging a cicada, paralyzing it so that it can become...Screech. Halt. My apologies.I'll spare you the gory details about what happens to that cicada.Just know that what caused me to see this and take the picture was hearing the cicada scream.Yes, I said scream. I heard it myself so now I know that cicadas do scream … [Read more...] about Cicada Killing Wasps Are Back!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: insects

Gotta take the bad with the good

June 28, 2018 By Carol Michel 9 Comments

'Tis a lovely morning in the garden when the hybrid hyssop, Agastache 'Blue Fortune', is just beginning to bloom and the bees have already discovered it. It sure didn't take long. This lovely flower is definitely one of the top bee magnets in my garden. Bees love it! Of course, naturally, maybe oops, not oops, I planted it by the sidewalk so people walking by can see the pretty flowers covered with bees. I'm sure that doesn't please a lot of people who are a bit skittish about bees. But … [Read more...] about Gotta take the bad with the good

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gardening, insects

What I do about Japanese beetles in my garden

July 2, 2015 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Japanese beetle on raspberries The other day, I noticed a butterfly and a Japanese beetle sharing the same Agastache flower. I didn't get a good picture of them on the flower, though I tried to.  The butterfly wouldn't stay still. The Japanese beetle could not have cared less, though, and later I took a picture of two of the beetles on a raspberry leaf. There are also Japanese beetles starting to chew holes in the leaves of other plants in the garden, including newly flowering zinnias … [Read more...] about What I do about Japanese beetles in my garden

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: insects

Go, go, go. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

March 24, 2014 By Carol Michel 5 Comments

We could learn a few things from the bees. They were out in full force on Friday, the first full day of spring. They buzzed from hellebores to crocuses and then from crocus to crocus. I'm sure they visited the irises and snowdrops, too. The bees know a sunny day shouldn't be wasted in the springtime. They know the pollen from those early spring flowers isn't going to be there forever until they get around to it. This is not the lazy season. When the sun is shining and those flowers are open … [Read more...] about Go, go, go. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: bulbs, insects, seasons

Thoughts From the Desert

October 18, 2012 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Two flights with a layover in between and I was transported from Indianapolis in the Midwest, where Fall is lowering the temps and changing the leaf color, to Tucson in the Southwest, where it felt like Summer was a permanent resident. On the drive from the airport to the hotel in Tucson where the annual Garden Writers Symposium took place, our shuttle van driver patiently answered our questions about the local life of the desert, including rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and scorpions, oh … [Read more...] about Thoughts From the Desert

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: birds, bulbs, gardening, insects

Can you believe this frass?

February 18, 2012 By Carol Michel 9 Comments

Photo orig. from The Blogging Nurseryman Can you believe this frass? The Hoosier Gardener, perhaps knowing that I like to use the word frass as my own secret gardener's cuss word, sent me this picture of a bag of frass. Insect frass in a bag. Can you imagine?  How in the world does a company get enough frass to fill not just one bag, but enough bags to market and sell it as plant food? Who came up with the idea of collecting insect poo and using it as fertilizer, anyway? In all my … [Read more...] about Can you believe this frass?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: humor, insects

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