… from Willowdale Farm
Join me as I share photos and content on gardening, garden insects, our dogs, and cooking.
What’s New?
See my Willowdale Farm project at iNaturalist!
Willowdale Farm Awarded Wildlife Habitat Certification from the National Wildlife Federation
In January 2025, Willowdale Farm was awarded wildlife habitatat certification from NWF. Requirements included the provision of native plants, food, water, cover, places to raise young, and the use of sustainable practices. Click on the photo above to learn more.
Winner 2024 Brandywine Conservancy Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge
In the summer of 2024 I entered the Brandywine Conservancy’s fourth annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge…and I won the adult category! The winning photo of an Eastern carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginica, is shown above. Information about the contest, including winners and honorable mentions, is available from Brandywine here.
Willowdale Farm Awarded Pollinator-Friendly Garden Certification from Penn State Extension Master Gardeners
In 2023, Willowdale Farm was awarded Pollinator-Friendly Garden certification from Penn State Extension Master Gardeners. The rigorous application process involved cataloging various trees, shrubs, perennials, and host plants for butterfly larvae. Water sources, habitats, invasive plant species, and use of pesticides were also considered. Visit the Penn State Extension website for more details or click on the image to the right to see the presentation I gave on the certification process at the 2025 Farm Show.
New Pages
NEW PAGE: Who Am I? Full of great photos and interesting facts about common insect garden visitors.
Additional information on the Solitary Bees page, including sharp-tailed bees and sculptured resin bees.
Final presentation for the Master Gardener training program: Flies in My Garden PowerPoint with lots of photos AND Flies in the Garden page (detail not included in blog).
New Galleries
Galleries are now arranged by subject on a single landing page here, including new galleries for the following:
New Blogs
Master Gardener Pollinator Habitat Certification (click photo below for details)
Blogs
The Gardens
The raised vegetable beds; meadow; and pollinator, rose, and kitchen gardens.
Cooking
Favorite foods from the garden and beyond.
Honey Bees
Keeping honey bees at Willowdale Farm.
Insects in the Gardens
And some spiders too.
Our Dogs
Isabella, Matilda, Lilou, and Gigi.
Get In Touch
Welcome to Riverside Gardens!
..formerly the home of Willowdale Farm.
Thank you for joining me on my next garden venture in Salisbury, Maryland.
In October 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic, we moved from Salisbury, MD to Harrisburg, PA because we wanted to be closer to our parents, families, and old friends we grew up with. It was also important to have space to garden and to provide a good home for Ben’s bees. I looked for an old house on a large property for 3 years until I found Willowdale Farm.
The original part of the house was built in 1831, and the kitchen and family room were added later. From what we’ve been told, the property was originally part a working celery farm, and a local church was founded in our living room! We don't currently have a working farm, but we do have multiple raised veg and flower beds, various patches, and flower gardens, including wildflowers for pollinators.
I hope you enjoy my photos (all images are mine) and posts. Some of the insect photos are not as clear as others, but I wanted to document some less common species. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me via the contact form.
To the left is Eddie, our resident male Northern Flicker. He and Harriet nested in the maple outside the kitchen door our first spring here. I wish they would again.
~Angie Hartley