There's so much happening in politics right now, so red wine and blue is here to ask,

okay, but why?

Gardens and landscapes that are absolutely gorgeous can also help the world around us.

They can provide food, water, and shelter to wildlife.

Gardens can and have brought back plants and animals from the brink of extinction. I am at times

immobilized with climate grief, thinking about the world that we're leaving for our children.

But gardening honestly brings me so much hope that we can solve some very big, very serious problems,

that we have the solutions already, and many of them simply involve planting flowers.

It's July, which means summer is well underway. If you have a backyard garden, you're probably

enjoying beautiful flowers and harvesting more

tomatoes or zucchini than you know what to do with. But summer also means heat, and lately it seems

like every year it gets a little bit hotter. Well, it doesn't just seem that way. The last 10 years have been the warmest on record, and scientists agree that the reason isn't

a mystery.

It's climate change.

Not only our temperatures rising, but more and more species are going extinct.

But climate change is such a big issue.

It can be hard to know what we can do as individuals

to help. Sure, we can reduce our own carbon emissions by buying an electric car, but that can be

expensive. And sure, we can talk to our friends about the climate, or donate to environmental

organizations. All of those things are great, and if you have the money or time, we absolutely encourage

you to do any or all of them.

But did you know that you can help the environment just by focusing on your own backyard?

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