The Native Guild

🌿Hi Bluesky! This is my friend Misha🐕 She's a digger #GrowNativePlants

Hey @stephenking.bsky.social 🙂🐞🦋 What can we do to entice you to run for the office, Mr. Senator? #MaineSenate

🌿Highly Invasive Mustard Massive waves of vibrant yellow blanket hillsides & roads in California🌴 It looks pretty, but is choking out essential native plants When it pops up in your neighborhood - destroy it! You can eat it. It tastes like broccoli when it's young and tender🥦 #GrowNativePlants

🗽While we look up at the fireworks this 4th of July, remember our pollinators! 🐝✨ Loud booms can disorient sleeping bees, and the chemical smoke settles onto the summer flowers they eat Consider celebrating away from garden beds or opting for laser/drone shows to keep them safe!🦋 #GrowNativePlants

🌿Salvia clevelandii It's a spectacular year for this beauty💖 Once established, it can survive entirely on local rainfall, sitting in full sun🌞 This one has grown to about 10' across, teaming with wildlife🦋🐝🐞🐦 #GrowNativePlants #ClevelandSage #SalviaClevelandii #PollinatorGarden

🌿Hello Bluesky! Finally getting blooms on the milkweed but don't see any caterpillars yet 🦋 But there is a beautiful Monarch flitting about, so...🤞 #GrowNativePlants #Milkweed #PollinatorGarden #MonarchButterfly

🌿Hello Bluesky! No grass lawn here! 🎉 Every day I see more and more homeowners that have taken up their lawn for a better solution💦 Great news for local pollinators🐞🦋🐝

🌿Matilija Poppy The plant gets its name from Chief Matilija of the Chumash tribe, and a popular local legend claims the white petals represent the transformation of a heartbroken maiden's tears #MatilijaPoppy #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden

🌿Wildflowers are the untouched, nutrient-dense "whole foods" of the insect world🐝🦋🪲 And sooo beautiful✨ #Wildflowers #GrowNativePlants

🌿Lupine - from the Latin word for wolf Long ago, people mistakenly believed these plants "wolfed down" and destroyed all the nutrients in the soil because they grew so well in poor dirt 🪻🦋🐞 In reality, they were doing the exact opposite - creating nutrients where there were none! #GrowNativePlants

I live kind of close to SpaceX 🚀 Lately I've noticed that after a launch I see more dead bees & ones in distress on the sidewalk Not sure if it's because of the heavy metals raining down This little guy refused the poppy but found comfort on a bachelor button #ProtectPollinators #FuckElon

🌿Happy Obama Appreciation Day! #NoKings

🌿Good morning, Bluesky! I'm taking advantage of this beautiful, empty beach to clear my head and mood🏖️ These low-growing, tough little plants thrive right in the shifting sand Many are succulents or have hairy leaves to lock in moisture and reflect the harsh sun #BeachDay

As we approach our 250 year anniversary, it seems like a great time to address our cruel past.

🌼Matilija Poppy 💖 First bloom Because of its massive, crinkled white petals (blooming 8-9 inches across) which look exactly like delicate silk crepe paper - and its enormous, fluffy bright-yellow center, it is universally and affectionately nicknamed the "Fried Egg Plant"🍳 #GrowNativePlants

🌿Unlike honeybees, living in massive, highly social hives, the vast majority of our native bees are solitary They don't make honey, and are very gentle and unlikely to sting🐝 They lay their eggs in tiny underground dens, hollowed-out twigs, or patches of coastal sage scrub #NativeBees #Pollinators

🌿Hello, Bluesky! The pollinators are loving this blue sage! Today it's been teaming with butterflies, honeybees, bumblebees and carpenter bees🐝 #PollinatorGarden #Invertebrates

Um.... We need @stephenking.bsky.social to take one for the team and run for US Senate to unseat Susan Collins. I know it's a BIG ask, but please consider it. You would be a shoe-in🌼🦋 #SaveDemocracy

🌿Golden Yarrow This hardy California native is a champion of the local environment🦋🐝🐞 It plays a vital role in supporting regional wildlife, acting as an exceptional nectar source for local pollinators and serving as a host plant for native butterflies and moths #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden

🌿Hello, Bluesky! Calendulas are not native to Santa Barbara County but their wide, flat ray flowers act like a landing pad This makes nectar and pollen accessible to smaller, native solitary bees (like sweat bees and mining bees) that might struggle with deep, tubular flowers🐝 #PollinatorParadise

Why isn't the media giving #ICELawlessness the coverage it deserves? A sitting member of the US Senate (Senator Kim) got attacked yesterday with chemical weapons by this rogue administration and crickets! It's up to us to make sure people hear about these things. Please share this thread widely.

🌿Hello, Bluesky! Out on a walk today - admiring the California Poppies & Marigolds growing 💖 The bumblebees are loving this patch!🐝 #Wildflowers #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden #PollinatorHabitat

🌿Hello, Bluesky! One more house that replaced its thirsty grass lawn, creating a pollinator habitat. Abundance for all my little friends 🐝🪲🐞🐛🦋🦗🕷️🐌🐦‍⬛ #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorParadise #PollinatorGarden

🌿Hello, Bluesky!! This excellent conversation between Stacia Stelk and Celia Llopis-Jepsen on NPR gives a step-by-step process to transform your lawn into a pollinator habitat🦋🌾🐝🪲 www.npr.org/2026/05/21/n... #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden

🌿Hello Bluesky! It's never felt so important to go somewhere beautiful to recover from the news🐚 #BeachDay

🌿Even though it originates a few hundred miles south of the American border, Cedros Island shares the exact same unique Mediterranean climate as coastal Santa Barbara County Characteristics: 🦋Butterfly Magnet 🌸Near Constant Blooms 💦Drought Ready Plant #VerbenaDeLaMina #GrowNativePlants #Pollinator

🌿Southern Bush Monkeyflower A Native Workhorse: In a garden setting, it's a massive favorite for wildlife. It blooms profusely from late winter through summer, acting as a crucial, high-energy nectar stop for local hummingbirds and native bees when other plants have dried up🐝 #GrowNativePlants

🌿Dudleya are currently at the center of high-stakes, international plant-smuggling operations Smugglers hike down California's steep, rugged cliffs to rip the rare species out of the ground, aiming to sell them on the black market in East Asia #Dudleya #GrowNativePlants

🌿As temperatures rise, many pollinators move toward the poles or up mountains to find the cool climates they need 🐝Many invertebrates are losing the southern, warmer edge of their territory Their habitable zone is shrinking like an ice cube on a hot sidewalk🧊 #GrowNativePlants #Invertebrates

🌿On chilly California mornings, the center of a Bush Poppy can be much warmer than the surrounding air 🐝Pollinators land there not just for the food, but to warm their engines, making them more efficient flyers In return, they get covered in the poppy’s abundant pollen #BushPoppy #GrowNativePlants

I'm wishing the 6 MAGA SCOTUS a life without one peaceful night out. See them... boo them!

🌿It's my favorite time of year!! I get to watch the Milkweed grow, providing habitat for the many Monarch Caterpillars A beautiful butterfly is fluttering around like a proud mom🦋 There are so many stripes to see 💖 #MonarchCaterpillar #GrowNativePlants #PlantMilkweed #MonarchButterfly

Hello Bluesky! Here's a reel I put together to add to my motion design portfolio. I hope you like it! #GrowNativePlants #MotionDesign #PollinatorGarden

🦋Happy Monday, Bluesky!! I have made another short motion video - this time about Matilija Poppies 🌼 Hope you like it! I'm having fun learning After Effects 💖 #GrowNativePlants #MatilijaPoppy #TheNativeGuild #PollinatorGarden

✨Central Coast Iris The ultimate coastal rebel 🌸 🌿Rare & endemic to the Bay Area 🦌"Cattle and deer proof" (too bitter to be eaten!) 🐝Features "pathfinder" veins that act as landing strips for bees Native gardening at its most resilient #CentralCoastIris #GrowNativePlants #PollinatorGarden

I love trees! 💖 An individual Coast Live Oak is essentially a skyscraper for local wildlife They support: Over 300 species of animals Thousands of insect species, including the California Sister butterfly 🦋 #grownativeplants #thenativeguild #coastalliveoak #pollinatorgarden #nativetrees

Good morning, Bluesky! I've been learning motion design to enhance my support of native plants. Starting with the California Poppy, here's a tidbit of interesting information about the little beauty 😍 #californiaPoppy #grownativeplants #thenativeguild

ladyfreethinker.org/sign-urge-me...

Happy No Kings Day🎉

🦋Only ONE monarch at Goleta’s Butterfly Grove today Storm damage has been rough, but habitat restoration is happening there - preparing for new native trees and plants 🌿At your home, please plant a native plant if you can - it truly helps #PollinatorGarden #GrowNativePlants #MonarchMilkweed

🌿Hummingbird sage has deep roots with the Chumash people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Santa Barbara region They used the leaves to make a medicinal tea for treating lung congestion and sore throats⚕️ #GrowNativePlants #TheNativeGuild #HummingbirdSage

🗽No Kings - No ICE!🦋🌎 #NoKings #NoIce

🕊️The Buddhist monks completed their 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace” One of the monks who lost a leg in a serious accident early in the journey didn’t let that stop him — after recovering, he rejoined the group and completed the full pilgrimage with them & their dog🐕 #WalkForPeace #BuddhistMonks

🌿Despite its painful sting, California’s native nettle is an important host plant for several butterfly and moth species Caterpillar species like the Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and the Garden Tiger Moth rely on it as a food source 🍵And we make tea with it #GrowNativePlants #Nettle #PollinatorGarden

🪱Happy Darwin Day He spent over 40 years studying earthworms His final scientific book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, argued that earthworms are major geological agents, slowly transforming entire landscapes through their constant burrowing and digestion #earthworms

🌿Prune for Shape By mid-to-late March, many birds begin nesting Pruning now ensures you won't disturb a family of hummingbirds or bushtits later Sages: If you haven't already, cut back woody sages by about a third Fuchsias: These should be cut back hard (nearly to the ground) to encourage growth

🌿It's Ceanothus season Indigenous Californians used the flowers and seed pods as a gentle soap for centuries Pick a small cluster of blossoms Add a little water and rub your hands together Result: It creates a natural, fragrant lather! #GrowNativePlants #Ceanothus #TheNativeGuild

🌿Start small This parkway garden has one young GLORIOUS Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman' mixed in with succulents and alyssum The pollinators love the sweet Alyssum nectar that provide a vital "bridge" food source during winter, as well as the lilac blossoms from Ceanothus #PollinatorGarden #GrowNatives