Redbone Native Plants

05/29/2022

💚🌱🌸☀️

https://www.usbg.gov/exposed-secret-life-roots

05/15/2022

Bayou-Diversity (15 May 2022) NEWS BEES Mark Twain was famously quoted as saying, “Clothes make the man.” Many sources stop him there and omit his following wit, which was, “Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Adornments are important to animals also. A good example is that inch-long, black and yellow bedizened, hornet-looking creature that zips in to hover just in front of your face on a summer afternoon before rocketing away on a zigzag trail not unlike the cartoon roadrunner. This gaudy insect influences society also, usually in the form of terror as it buzzes threateningly inches from one’s nose. Like clothes, the insect’s garments are superficial, and what you see is only a ruse.

Nature, in a seemingly playful mood, decked out this innocent insect as an example of mimicry in the natural world. It’s not a bee or a hornet, and its correct name is Yellowjacket Hover Fly. Bees have four wings; this fly has two – not that they will ever beat slowly enough for you to count them. Bees also cannot hover like this fly. As a fly, it has no stinger and is absolutely harmless. Biologists refer to the yellow and black color theme as aposematic coloration – a bright flash of danger that tends to warn off predators. In this case, the hover fly is thought to mimic a yellowjacket. Even its loud buzz and aggressive flight is a form of mimicry.

In the South, we call this insect the “news bee” or the “good news bee” for its habit of hovering in front of a person and “giving them the news.” Some say that he is actually telling you the news, while others claim that he is saying that important news will soon arrive. If one lights on your finger, which they do on occasion if offered, good luck is guaranteed. Actually, you will benefit from the presence of a yellowjacket hover fly whether it lights on your finger or not, as it goes about its important business of pollinating the flowers in your yard – a considerable influence on society. (Adapted from Bayou-Diversity: Nature & People in the Louisiana Bayou Country; photo by Charles S. Lewallen)

05/10/2022

Volunteer of the month💕

05/31/2021

Getting ready to bloom now....🙂

Habit: This occasionally branching annual legume is ½-2' (sometimes up to 3 ') tall. Shorter plants are erect, while taller plants are inclined to sprawl. The slender hairless stems are initially light green, but become reddish brown.

05/24/2021

Russian sunflower 🌻

01/26/2021

I often advise people to do winter pruning in the late January to early February period, while plants are dormant and shortly before they start actively growing again. Pruning can encourage a plant to start growing earlier than it otherwise would. If we get a warm period during the winter and the pl...

12/12/2020

Mustang grape cuttings available: 10$ per foot
Cool thing about this plant: The green unripe grapes can be pickled, or processed like olives, or made into a green grape pie.🙂

10/29/2020

Redbones of Louisiana Words and Music by Hershel Frazier Vocals & Guitar by Hershel Frazier Eddie Ortego, Dobro Colton Ortego, Bass Used with permission.

09/30/2020

Everyone knows this one!!🙂