Butterflies taste with their feet…can fly between 5 & 30 miles an hour and lay up to 500 eggs. Huh? All I was doing was looking up some fun facts for Cinco de Mayo for the newsletter and noticed that the flower of the day is the Mexican Sunflower (tithonia rotundifolia to be exact), and then there was a link on how to grow them and that it attracts butterflies, and then there was a link on attracting butterflies with other plants and then there was a link on butterflies with beautiful pictures. I kinda feel like the mouse in “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. Now you know how I spent the last hour. So… I’m passing it all on to you. Have fun. Oh – and happy almost Cinco de Mayo.
http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/tithonia.htm
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/mexican-sunflower/
http://biointerestingfacts.blogspot.com/2007/01/butterflies-taste-with-their-feet.html

Happy Birthday Dragonfly Shops & Gardens!

We’re turning 6!
Come celebrate with us.
Saturday, March 30th  See details on our calendar.

We love Cupcakes!
Soooo….. we’re going to have a cupcake eating – I mean baking – contest as part of our birthday celebration. There will be 3 categories to enter – Kids, Presentation & of course Taste. There will be prizes for all three categories. If you or anyone you know wants to join in the fun, call The Dragonfly at 714-289-4689 for more details.
The contest will take place Saturday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m. at The Dragonfly Shops & Gardens.

Decorating Fairy Gardens for the Seasons and Holidays

Guest post by Julie Bawden-Davis

Though they obviously have an exciting life flitting here and there, the truth is that fairies get bored. The good news is that as a fairy garden caretaker, you can easily and quickly change things up so that your fairies stay excited and stick around.

Changing your fairy gardens for the seasons and holidays also means that you can make the most of your miniature landscapes. Consider these tips and tricks.

Decide on a theme. Do you want to represent a particular holiday, like Easter or Fourth of July? Or would you prefer to stick with a season like spring or summer? While decorating for a particular holiday is a lot of fun and gives you great decorating opportunities, accessorizing your fairy garden for a season gives you more time to enjoy your creation.

Choose accessories. Find lots of great accessories for individual seasons at your local fairy garden suppliers (like Dragonfly!), and take a good look at your own holiday and seasonal décor. Have some mini Easter eggs? Hide them in your fairy garden.

Start simple. Use a generic fairy garden as a backdrop for your various theme scenes. Plant a mini tree toward the back of the pot, a mid-size shrub in the middle and a low-growing groundcover in the front. Each time you redecorate, add a plant or two to go with the theme.

Have fun. Let your imagination soar, and you’ll create a miniature world so marvelous that fairies will come from near and far to take up residence.

Meet the author Julie Bawden-Davis at 3:00 pm on April 6^th at the Dragonfly Shops & Gardens! Julie and Beverly Turner will be on-hand to sign their new book, Fairy Gardening: Creating Your Own Magical Miniature Garden. The Dragonfly’s own Dani Mendenhall of Dragonfly Hollow will also be participating. She’ll be illustrating how to change up your fairy gardens for the seasons and holidays.

Make a comment on this post or ask a question, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a free Fairy Gardening book. One copy to be given away. Winner will be chosen randomly using Random.org. A valid email address is required for. The giveaway ends Friday, March 29 at midnight Pacific Standard Time, and the winner will be notified the following day.

Be sure to visit Fairy Gardening Expert (http://www.fairygardenexpert.net) for more fairy gardening tips!

http://www.fairygardenexpert.net/blogging-about-fairies/why-make-a-fairy-garden-2

With Moo Poo Tea of course!  Wait, what????  Okay, we cannot contain ourselves any longer, we have to share the incredible news.  Annie Haven, the ANNIE HAVEN’s product, Authentic Haven Brand manure tea, affectionately known as Moo Poo Tea is now carried right here at Dragonfly!

Folks who use Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew premium soil conditioner manure tea to feed their plants and soil have affectionately dubbed the product Moo Poo Tea and are known as the ‘Moo Poo Crew’ because they grow their gardens naturally.

Authentic Haven Brand Natural Soil Conditioner

Annie will be at the shop on March 30 at 9:30 a.m. to give us a demonstration of how and why growing your gardens naturally is so important.  For you vegetable gardeners and rose growers, you will find this product invaluable!  For those of you who want to have the healthiest, happiest house plants you’ve ever seen, this is for you.  Even if you haven’t a green thumb on your body, this demonstration will be an informative fun filled time and help grow your confidence as a gardener.

P.Allen Smith brewing up a bucket of Moo Poo Tea

What is Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew?  The Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew premium soil conditioner teas 100% natural Soil nutrients. Harvested, processed and Eco hand packaged for the container, patio, balcony and home gardener who wish to grow Green!

Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew premium soil conditioner teas are harvested from grass fed cattle *free of antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides and herbicides. You can’t grow greener!

Annie’s family has an agricultural history in Southern California with very deep roots (since 1853!). Just swing by Ontario and look at the cross streets Archibald and Haven Ave. named for her families patriarch.  Look through historic records and you’ll see that the Haven family had a profound effect on the agriculture of our region, from providing seeds to livestock and everything in between.  Annie continues that tradition today, taking care of her livestock in San Juan Capistrano and Murrieta and harvesting her Moo Poo on a daily basis.

To read more about Annie, check out this article from the OC Register, click here or check out the results our very own OCGardenJen, part of the Moo Poo Crew has had using the Manure Tea, click here and here.