Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes more garden ideas for kids, a bird rescue story, a great garden idea and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> More Year-Round Yard Fun For Kids
> Watch Out For That Tree!
> The Grandkids Are Blooming
> Monarch Migration A Country Highlight
> Desert Gardens Have Lots of Color
> Find Answers Fast
> New Tomato Boosters Are Better!

By Diane A. of Fish Creek Valley, Pennsylvania

FOR YEARS, my husband Phil and I have walked in the mountains behind our home. There's a lot of wildlife there and I'd often worried what we would do if we found an injured animal. We found out one Sunday morning.

A hawk was swooping down to catch a squirrel, and we watched and waited for a tussle. But that area of the woods was unusually still, so we decided to investigate.

What we found was the hawk lying flat on its back, wings pointing to the sky. Something obviously was not right.

Finally the hawk stood up, but it was unable to fly away. Phil sat on a nearby log and began talking to the hawk in a calm voice. I ran home to get the camera, and when I returned, he was holding this impressive bird.

Not knowing what was wrong, we brought the hawk home and contacted the game commission. They referred us to our county's wildlife rescuers.

A quick examination indicated the immature red-tailed hawk was suffering from head trauma. The best guess was that it had flown into a tree and stunned itself.

After a 2-day stay, the rescuers informed us the hawk was doing fine and would be released into the wild. They also praised us for handling the situation properly.

What an exciting end to the story--we had the opportunity to see the hawk returned to its home in the mountains! The hawk immediately flew to the top of a pine tree, and it wasn't long before we heard the crows protesting its return.

To view a photo, click here.

WHEN Ellie D. of Franklin, Vermont boasts about the "blooming" faces of her grandchildren, one has to wonder if she's talking about her grand roses.

"A new idea was born when we designed our rose garden a few years ago," she explains. "We planted 11 rosebushes, each representing one of our grandchildren."

Ellie selected the roses she planted for characteristics and colors reminding her of each child. Meanwhile, her husband Russ and the grandkids were busy making signs.

"We let each kid design a sign that identifies their special rose," Ellie relates. "They drew pictures of their roses on the sign and wrote their names in a color to match their flower."

Now "Grandma's Garden" is the first place the kids stop when they visit.

"The garden adds a lot of beauty to our yard, and we see our grandchildren more because they come to see if their roses are blooming," Ellie reports. "It's brought many happy smiles."

FRESH AIR, singing birds and peace and quiet are what Mrs. John K. of Sauk Centre, Minnesota expected when she and her husband moved to the country 2 years ago.

But she didn't expect to be in the flight path of migrating monarch butterflies. "As they passed through, our trees were covered with hundreds of black and orange butterflies," she recalls.

Shortly after the butterflies arrived, a harsh wind came through the area. Later, when Mrs. K. looked out the window, all the monarchs appeared to have moved on.

"I went outside and was surprised to see the monarchs on the back side of the evergreens, where they were sheltered from the strong winds.

"They stayed 2 more days before leaving. We have never seen anything so spectacular!"

Desert Gardens Have Lots of Color

SOME FOLKS in Arizona are out to set the record straight about gardening in a state known for its abundance of cactus and blazing heat.

"Many people think Arizona is nothing but sand and brown plants," writes Sandra R. of Mesa. "That's far from the truth."

Sandra says she and her husband, Tony, love backyard gardening in Arizona because the season is long and beautiful. One of the true pleasures of living there, she adds, is that the blooming season is exciting for most of the year.

"The only months plants don't bloom are July and August. The rest of the year, we enjoy bright colors like the beautiful bougainvillea vines, which bloom for months and enhance the beauty of saguaro cactus and mulberry trees."

To view a photo, click here.

	If you have a passion for petals, then join in the fun as we visit some of the most dazzling gardens this May on World Wide Country Tours' trip showcasing the Masterpiece Gardens of England & France! > Attend the world's premier flower show--Chelsea. > See Monet's breathtaking gardens at charming Giverny and tour Paris. > View Britain's largest collection of plants--more than 30,000--at Kew Botanic Gardens. > Take home backyard ideas from Wisley Garden, the spectacular showpiece of the Royal Horticultural Society. > See the famous gardens at Windsor Great Park, Sudeley Castle, Great Dixter, Chartwell, Stourhead and Sissinghurst Castle. > Take in London's famous sights--Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Harrods and more.

For complete details click here.

Save $100 per person if you book by Feb. 28th. Just mention code EB02.

Great gift for Mother's Day or daughters Birthdays.

Single travelers--look into our Single Share Program.

Find Answers Fast

TRY the Birds & Blooms on-line Bulletin Board!

This easy-to-use service allows readers with access to the Web to post questions and share information and ideas on-line anytime.

Feel free to ask your question or respond to other readers searching for help on various subjects, such as bird feeding, flower gardening and butterflies. The Bulletin Board gives you a chance to quickly find solutions to your backyard dilemmas. And you'll see for yourself just how friendly our readers are.

To access the Birds & Blooms Bulletin Board, click here.

Here's a recent conversation from our Bulletin Board:

Subject: What kinds of birds in Florida?

Posted by: bontiki

I will be moving to Hollywood, Florida in the spring. I love to feed the birds--what kind of birds will I attract there?

RE: What kinds of Birds in Florida?

Posted by: boootss

Hi! I live in Clearwater on a golf course. We see many species--Pileated Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, many Redbellied. There are a lot of Mocking Birds, Shrikes, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Finches. If you are near the water, you will see Osprey, many Egrets and all the different herons, Pelicans, Ibis, Cormorants. It's a birders paradise!

RE: What kinds of Birds in Florida?

Posted by: wannabe_fl

I live near the Everglades on a freshwater canal and see mockingbirds, blue jays, cardinals, grackles, doves, red bellied woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds, orioles, sharp-shinned hawks, Monk parakeets and starlings. In winter we also see migrating birds--this week I saw a Northern Flicker!

RE: What kinds of Birds in Florida?

Posted by: jo_c

Hi, I live in Sebastian, on the east coast. I get a lot of cardinals, blue jays, painted buntings, finches, doves and pileated woodpeckers at my feeders. We also see sandhill cranes, redwing black birds, hawks, ibis, osprey, pelicans, egrets and many more. You'll love it here.

To access the Birds & Blooms Bulletin Board, click here.

New Tomato Boosters Are Better!

The big red Booster offers a larger, 1-gallon-plus reservoir, (50% more capacity than the original!) and a fourth fertilizer cup that provides four-point "drip irrigation". Two extended "wings" collect extra water for irrigation, plus its big 25- x 13-inch "footprint" chokes out more weeds. And research shows that the red color stimulates bigger growth and earlier ripening. Looks great in your garden, too!

Choose an option below to order Super-Gro Tomato Boosters and accessories from Country Store On-line.

3 Boosters

6 Boosters

12 Boosters

Starter Kit

Gardener's Pack

Gift Set