Creative Nonfiction by Andrea Badgley
The garden is is peak bloom right now. Pollinators buzz busily, and the bigger butterflies are starting to find their way to the flowers I planted for them. These are mostly just the close-ups. I published more photos on Andrea’s Gardening Blog if you like photographs of gardens and flowers. Continue reading Photos from the butterfly garden
A friend asked recently what it is about gardening that I love so much, and with such intensity. What is so compelling? What do I get out of it? When we moved into our house, it was surrounded by nothing but mowed grass. A vast expanse of green blades, all the same height, all the same … Continue reading Welcome back, little critters
It’s that time of year again, when I get to sit under the dogwood tree and soak up the garden. I am amazed by how much is already happening out here from perennials we planted last year. They are thriving after having a year to get established, and many things are flowering that didn’t flower last … Continue reading Garden infusion
I am counting down the days until the mulch truck arrives. Three days, and then I can scatter wildflower seeds on the slope out back: a moment I’ve waited for for weeks. I can’t stop thinking about the garden. Our back yard is a steep hill that makes me pant when I mow it. When we … Continue reading Four sleeps until mulch
When I returned home after a weeklong trip to Whistler, I was giddy to walk around the garden and find not one monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, but two. After finding those, I of course crawled around in the mulch and dirt to inspect the undersides of leaves. I found three more monarch chrysalises plus a bunch … Continue reading Caterpillar catalog (and the plants that make it possible)
