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As much as I wish to remain in denial, the birds won't let me. Groups of my favorite woodpecker, the flickers, are passing through my garden these nippy mornings for a snack (of ants!). And the first juncos just arrived, too, a few days ahead of the official start of fall. Uh-oh. Better get cooking -- and planting, including more butterfly-specific host and nectar plants. Here's why:
plight of the migrating monarchs
"Where are all the monarch butterflies this year?" one of many recent emails asked me. Headlines about monarch decline seem to confirm gardeners' observations: Populations of the once-familiar orange-and-black creatures are not what they were. What's going on, and how bad is it? Is there anything we can do?
 I invited conservation biologist Dr. Karen Oberhauser (above), a University of Minnesota professor and leading force in its Monarch Lab, who has studied Danaus plexippus for almost 30 years, to my latest radio show to explain. The whole story, to listen to or read.
soup's on! 3 garden-to-freezer recipes
Too many beans? Kale galore? Tomatoes finally ripening faster than you can use them fresh? Make soup, and freeze it -- my favorite way to preserve the harvest, since there's hardly a winter day when I don't feel like a bowl of soup. Three favorite, easy recipes to turn your garden into right now.
miss it last time? more goodies
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