Breakfast Anyone?

Woke to find somebody had tried my organic grapefruit. I know it was Mr. Racoon, though I did not get up early enough to take his picture. The Santa Monica Mtns provide refuge from Urban Living for lots of Wildlife. I never mind sharing my fruit with the Critters of Topanga Canyon. Glad he enjoyed!

Gardeners Pick Their “Gold Medal” Favorites

Want to add beauty and wildlife value to your yard? Consider planting natives.

“Perfectly suited to the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, orange bush monkeyflower is a pretty, drought-tolerant native that always makes me smile when I run across it. A shy, unassuming plant with yellow-orange blossoms, it is a magnet for hummingbirds. In Southern California, monkeyflower's most common visitors are Anna’s hummingbirds and Allen’s hummingbirds. Also, it is a forage source for common checkerspot and buckeye butterflies. Monkeyflowers do well planted alongside buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), which brings in bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects to the yard or hillside. Monkeyflowers grow naturally on rocky cliffs, hillsides and borders of chaparral.”—Kathy Vilim of Topanga Canyon, California

Original story at NationalWildlifeFederationMagazine