Many thanks to the following 3 Volunteers for helping me continue prepping the site for the Apiary Pollinator bed along the North fence line. We removed more broken glass, metal auto parts, weeds/grass, tree roots, broken concrete & misc junk from the site & screened the large pile of donated soil which a gardener […]
Author Archive | Kat Elder
Garden Workday – 11/21/2020
WCG had a small but hardworking group of individual Volunteers working safely with our garden leaders. This was our last Workday for 2020. The volunteers pictured here helped immensely in preparing our Butterfly Beds both for winter and for 2021 Spring wildflowers to come. And also helped with turning the East Compost bin contents. Pictured […]
Purple Martin Clean Team Fall 2020
On this gorgeous, sunny late Fall day, Nov 7, 2020, our WCG Purple Martin Team cleaned out, washed the house interiors & blocked them (hopefully) from European House Sparrow & Starling intrusions. (Trying Mike Blaha’s suggestion to stuff bags into the interiors!) We’ll be back the end of February /early March as soon as the […]
Lady Bugs
One of our most beneficial garden bugs are here at the Garden in increasing numbers. They are being attracted by Aphids and other soft body insects that are on our remaining winter and some early spring plants. I’ve left some Dill plants to seed in a growing bed, which also attracted Aphids, which attracted to […]
Emery Weiner Volunteers 2020
An energetic group of Emery HS Student volunteers and 3 teachers came to help WCG on Friday 2-14-20, a frigid Valentine’s Day💕morning. The group split up to help Westbury Community Garden Leaders, Kat Elder & Wayne Slaikeu and Hazel & Al Potvin. One group weeded in the main Butterfly Beds and then planted Texas Bluebonnets […]
Teach For America Volunteers
The Teach For America Volunteer group came to WCG this morning, Nov 7, 2019, to work in the Butterfly Gardens. Tasks performed : pruned Coneflowers & Red Texas Star Hibiscus ( gathering seed heads to share with other gardeners) clipped flower heads from Tropical Milkweed throughout the Garden, to encourage late migrating Monarch Butterflies to […]
Duke University Volunteers
The Duke University Houston Alumni Group joined us at our monthly Saturday Community Service Day on 9/28/19. On this beautiful and unseasonably warm day, 12 adults with their 5 children helped me immeasurably in the Butterfly Beds and the orchards. Volunteers also assisted George Rejsek, Compost Chairman and WCG President, Betsy Longoria with the Urban […]
Black Swallowtail Caterpillars!
As you are harvesting or planning to remove your dill and parsley plants, check them for Black Swallowtail butterflies! A gardener brought some dill cuttings home to keep in water for fresh use. After a few days, I noticed a tiny black form on a leaf. Initially, the caterpillars are tiny, appear black with a […]
Workday July 22, 2017
Happy, hardworking Volunteers in the Westbury Community Garden Butterfly Beds at the end of the long summer workday. ( L-R: back row, Amelia Goldberg, Becky Stemper; front row: Kat Elder. Steve Goldberg, Wayne Slaikeu) Virginia Livingston ( not pictured) was working in vacant beds.
Purple Martins
On a nippy, very windy Saturday, February 7, 2016, a dedicated group of Purple Martin landlords readied the four houses for spring arrival. Six gardeners (Bob Cook, Wayne Slaikeu, Dawn Asher, Ross Asher, Kat Elder and Becky Stemper) were joined by two Volunteer Houston volunteers, Patricia and Emily Tucker. Together we dropped the houses, cleaned them, prepped […]