Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
April 2026 / Rewild Your Garden & The Pink Moon
Welcome to Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
Spring is upon us. We watch bare ground sprout buds that seem to explode overnight. Nature surprises us daily. Each flower comes back as beautiful as ever. Even after the harshest of winters, those seeds survived. The dirt is ripe for whatever you choose to plant in it. There is nothing quite like planting a seed the size of a grain of rice and watching it burst through the dirt and become something beautiful - if only for a short time.
Lately, I’ve been looking closer at the flowers in my own neighborhood. I am always using my phone to discover their names and origins. While many are beautiful travelers from around the world, digging deeper into native plants has shifted my perspective on what it means to rewild our landscapes. We often feel powerless over the changing environment, but the truth is simpler: when we are mindful of what we plant, we create a nourishing pit stop for the magical creatures who share our world. Our gardens are where we reclaim our connection to the wild.
Things included this month:
Planting for the Pollinators: Rewilding our gardens
Magical Creature Catcher: A chart of pollinating beauties
The Pink Moon: April 1 at 10:12pm EDT
Creative Prompts: Spring Fever
Planting Native Plants
The days are getting longer and warmer. It’s time to welcome the baby birds and caterpillars.
Here in Southern California, it has felt like summer. All our winter rain ignited a superbloom. This is a rare desert botanical phenomenon where an exceptionally high number of wildflowers germinate and bloom simultaneously.
I drove out to the desert to see it. The meadows were alive with so many types of bees, moths, and butterflies. I came home itching to learn more about native plants and pollination.
The Lacy Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) is often called "Bee Food" for good reason. Its stamens reach out, offering high-protein purple pollen and deep wells of nectar. It doesn’t just sit there; it actively fuels the magical creatures of our landscape - from the tiny, solitary mining bees to the great, fuzzy bumblebees. Its violet, curled blooms offer a rich nectar. It’s consistently ranked among the top 20 honey-producing flowers in the world.
Now let’s compare that to the iconic Birds of Paradise – a common sight in Southern California. They are striking show-stoppers. However, it is native to South Africa and relies on specific sunbirds for pollination, offering little to no value for local bees.
Though I should mention: morning glory vines and geraniums are part of this neighborhood garden. They provide food sources for the pollinators. It shows how we can mix in plants that support our ecosystem while still enjoying some unique visitors.
Calling in the birds and caterpillars
A native oak tree in North America may support 500 species of caterpillars, whereas a non-native tree (like a Ginkgo Biloba) might only support five. Those caterpillars not only turn into beautiful pollinating butterflies, but birds feed them to their young. (Though I must admit those Ginkgo leaves are very magical.)
We all love to find a nest in our backyard trees. Birds like Goldfinch and Meadowlark heavily rely on a diversity of protein-rich small insects to feed their young. The pollen-rich plants provide a ground cover of nutrient-dense seeds. It is a daily buffet for our local feathered friends.
What should you plant?
When you visit a nursery, it’s worth asking: What plants here support our local pollinators? Are there any native plants I can sprinkle in my garden?
Sometimes we feel like the little things we do, won’t matter. But we can help our local ecosystems in surprisingly simple ways – just by what we choose to plant. I love looking out my window while I do the dishes and see the hummingbirds and butterflies drift by.
Here is a little helpful chart of some of my favorites that are creature candy! They are both colorful and help nature thrive…
☽✶ The full moon names featured each month are rooted in Native American, Colonial American, or European traditions. These names are used to describe the entire lunar month, not only the night when the moon appeared full. ☽✶
The Pink Moon arrives tonight, reaching its peak at 10:12 PM EDT. Though its name suggests a rosy hue in the sky, the title is actually a tribute to the wildflowers.
The Algonquin Tradition
The name originates with the Algonquin nation, whose ancestral lands span the Ottawa River watershed. They tracked the seasons by the blooming of Phlox subulata – the tiny, vibrant, moss-pink wildflowers that carpet the ground in early spring. For the Algonquin, this moon was a doorway to spring.
The Paschal Moon
Beyond the wildflower garden, this moon holds a central place in the Christian calendar. Known as the Paschal Full Moon, it is the first full moon to follow the Spring Equinox. By ancient tradition, Easter Sunday is set as the very first Sunday following this celestial event, tethering this holiday to the full moon.
The Astrological New Year
As the first full moon of the new astrological year, this marks a moment of transition. It is a cosmic invitation to shed the heavy layers of the past year that you no longer need to carry. It is time to begin again.
🌸 🌕 The Pink Moon Walking Meditation
The Moon’s Magic Hour
There is no better inspiration than a walk outside during spring. I find the moon the most majestic when I catch it in the early evening. The daylight is getting a smidge longer each day. You get the best view of a full moon just as it comes upon the horizon – you just need to know when to look. I use my Moongate App to determine what time it will appear over the mountains behind my home.
Getting Clear
This Pink Moon rises in Libra, the sign of the scales. It is a celestial invitation to seek harmony and evaluate the weight of our daily routines. If you feel your trajectory has drifted off-course, this is the moment to adjust your sails. Libra asks us: What needs balancing? Which relationships nourish you, and which feel like heavy stones?
Set Your Alarm For Moon Magic Hour
Maybe it is just me, but if I don’t set my alarm, I will inevitably forget to go outside. I’ve made these walking meditations a weekly ritual. It is just me and the moon. I suppose I began doing this because where I live has so many trees and things that obscure the moon. I also find moving outside in nature triggers deep thought and inspires new ideas.
The Walk
The first quarter of the year has already slipped away. Think back to January – to the intentions you wished into existence. Where are they now? Have they been tucked away in a drawer, or are they beginning to bloom? As you walk under the Pink Moon, ask yourself:
What would I like to foster in the month ahead?
What do I need to let go of?
What surfaces when the world is quiet, and it’s just me and the moon?
Capture it
When you return home, capture the clarity before it fades. Write it down, or better yet, sketch it. Sometimes when a new insight strikes me, I’ll take a small piece of art paper, scribble a quote, and add a quick doodle to keep on my desk. It serves as a beacon for those days when life gets cloudy again. Or even a photo…
I took this photo a few days ago on one of my moon walks. Bougainvillea is so dreamy. It was not a full moon, but the thing is, the moon will meet you any night of the week.
✦ Go On A Wildflower Scavenger Hunt
Have you ever noticed all the wildflowers that grow on your hiking trails? Or maybe the open meadow on the side of the road? I snap photos and use the Google Lens app on my phone to look up what I find. It is rather intriguing to learn about what grows naturally around you. You will find the history of your place on the map told through wildflowers. How romantic is that?
✦ Introduce a New Flower to Your Garden
Look up a list of the best pollination plants for your region of the world. Bring a list of your top picks to your local nursery. After you plant it, be sure to observe it a little bit each day. Every time a little creature makes a pitstop, may you feel a spark of joy. You are helping support all those magical creatures.
✦ A Friend(s) Date
How often do you invite a friend or friends to meet you out for a few hours? I invite you to extend an invitation. Nothing nourishes the soul more than sitting and talking to someone who lights you up. And it is something we all tend to put off because we are busy.
✦ Plant A Seed (Or Two)
If you were to look ahead three months from now, what project would you love to see completed? We all have them. They sit there waiting for the “perfect” time. But that time does not exist. Take time to sit down and map out where you will carve out time to work on it in the next month.
Until Next Time✨,
Kim
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