Alisa Varney

I’m elated the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has awarded my farm with a grant for their Pollinator Habitat Program (PHP). This will expand the existing plantings by adding a double hedgerow to surround the 8 acres, filling the interior with trees and adding wildflower meadows. My submitted design plan featured all CA natives with most self-sustaining after a handful of years even through drought. Some will have the ability to resprout following a wildfire. I’m eager to begin this new phase and support a greater diversity of native bees, butterflies, birds and other insects and mammals over the upcoming years.

@virgifar Plus they’re easier to grow than Easter lilies. 💟

@AlisaVarney They so remind me of the Easter season 💜💜💜

A cluster of beauty on Good Friday.

@MalpassJan85645 Dainty🔔

Hi Lovelies 👋 Cowslips now appearing all over the Garden😃 ☘️🌼☘️ 🌼 ☘️🌼☘️

@GuruAnaerobic A sinking boat would make a memorable event! Just thinking it’s been a year this month since I visited my daughter at Henley for her year of rowing with Leander. Cool boathouse and your video is probably stuffed in the back of a dusty closet. 😁

Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race @AlisaVarney - I remember watching it live on TV in 1978 when the Cambridge boat sank. The conditions were rough, Cambridge tried to overtake Oxford and ended in choppy waters. They made the mistake of having no splashboards, whereas Oxford did. Sank within seconds. I held a nutrition presentation at the Leander Club ~30yrs ago. It was filmed, but I never got to see it. Would be interesting to watch it now.

@growplantsgrow Sweet blooms 💛

A delicate, early spring bloomer - ‘Bishop’s Hat’ growing along a woodland trail. Happy Good Friday everyone! 🌼 #FlowersOnFriday 🌼 #SpringBlooms

@MikeFrye0511 Good capture!

@AlisaVarney It was a pretty day.

I missed out on some good ones!!😫

@growplantsgrow Scabiosas are the butterfly magnet.🧲 🦋

@AlisaVarney I get so few buckeyes - always hoping for more! Is there a favorite flower of theirs?

A gray buckeye butterfly displaying its predator-deflecting eyespots.

@Shultz_PA Love their spots!

@AlisaVarney Thank you. I love seeing this.

@s4r4h_l 😍🦋

@AlisaVarney Beautiful

@Perma_Paths 🤩🦋

@AlisaVarney Wow 😍

@MikeFrye0511 Blooms galore everywhere! 💟

@AlisaVarney Beautiful start to an Easter weekend!💜

@growplantsgrow What a beautiful heirloom to pass down! Sure hope the iris blooms for you this year. 💜

@AlisaVarney Love purple iris. My sister-in-law gave me some that came from my husband’s grandmother’s garden. They haven’t bloomed for me yet - maybe this year!

@SandraBeeKind Lovely photo 🐝

The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams. Henry David Thoreau #SaveTheBees #Bees #Bee #NaturePhotography #Nature #HoneyBees

@bitsweetTess Have a relaxing and wonderful trip!

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP FRIDAY Dear friends, I am off on a girls’ trip to Italy, and may not post as much. I promise to share pictures. Arrivederci amici! 😘

@missdmimi @CentralParkNYC Amazing beauty 😍

House sparrow enjoying the cherry blossoms too 🌸 @CentralParkNYC

@missdmimi 😍

@AlisaVarney 💕

@NatureEnjoyer_ Must have forgotten. 😂 It’s beautiful!

@AlisaVarney I’m pretty sure you’ve seen some of my photos of them! You’re in the likes haha😆

@JasonRobertC 🤎🦋🧡

@AlisaVarney 💛💛💛

@NatureEnjoyer_ Thanks, T! Didn’t know you also have buckeyes. These are found west of the Rocky Mountains. 🦋

@AlisaVarney Oh wow I didn’t know there was a western species! Looks pretty similar to our common buckeyes! So pretty, nice video Alisa!🤎🧡