Dear $$firstname$$,

Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes some early signs of spring for birdwatchers and gardeners, a clever yard decoration, a tip from our new Ultimate Garden Guide and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> Spring Comes on Bluebird Wings
> A Really Ribbiting Idea!
> Indoor Blooms Soothe Spring Fever
> Eager Eyes
> Get into the Zones
> Save Your Back and Knees!

A Really Ribbiting Idea!

ACCORDING TO Kay K. of Portland, Oregon, a neat project that started out as a tadpole of an idea resulted in a bullfrog of a garden decoration.

"I found a flat-surfaced rock that I thought would make a great addition to my garden," Kay explains. "But it wasn't until I found some flat pieces of shale-like rock for feet and a few rounded stones for eyes that I thought it might make a neat garden frog."

She asked a clerk at the hardware store the best way to attach the rocks to each other. Waterproof ready-mix cement was all she needed.

"It worked perfectly. I even molded the face, throat and eyes with some extra cement, shaping it with my hands."

Kay added some finishing touches with a paintbrush to make her stone frog unique.

"I've made several garden frogs since," she says. "But the first one is still sitting like a prince on a driftwood pedestal in my flower garden."

To view a photo, click here.

THE REWARD of having a flowering shrub like forsythia in your yard is its beautiful springtime blossoms.

But as reader Georgia S. of Hebron, Illinois suggests, these bright blossoms can be enjoyed well ahead of their flowering season by forcing branches to bloom indoors.

Here are a few easy steps for a beautiful indoor forsythia display:

> When the outdoor temperatures are above freezing, cut the branches about 18 inches from the top of the shrub.

> Immediately place the bottom of the branches in a bucket of warm water (even a bathtub will do) and soak them overnight.

> The following day, place the branches in a bucket or vase filled with fresh, warm water. Then place it in the coolest place in the house.

> Bright light and high humidity will help speed up blooming, but avoid direct sunlight because dormant flower buds will dry.

> Change water daily. In about a week, the gorgeous yellow blossoms will begin to appear.

If you want bright indoor displays in various colors, you can use this same method with other flowering shrubs and trees including cherry, pussy willow, apple, plum, dogwood, lilac and redbud.

Latest Newsletter Is Just for Fun!

ANOTHER newsletter has been added to our lineup, and we're sure you're going to love it!

You won't find yard and garden tips or family favorite recipes in each issue...just a hearty helping of humor! That's right--our new Laugh Letter is filled with grins (and a few groans) guaranteed to brighten your day.

We're talking good, clean fun--the kind you won't be embarrassed to share with family or friends of any age.

Like to laugh? Take a look at our new Laugh Letter right now!

To see a sample, click here.
To sign up now, click here.

By Cathy W., Panguitch, Utah

WE MOVED to this small farming community near Bryce Canyon National Park when my husband retired.

Soon after we arrived, we noticed several species of birds. We questioned a friend who works for the U.S. Forest Service what we should expect to see in the area. He said we might spot 20 to 25 different bird species.

Eager to see and identify them all, we began to take our bird-watching seriously. After adding several seed, suet and nectar feeders, as well as a birdbath, we quickly surpassed the number of species our friend estimated we'd see.

In fact, we've identified nearly 60 different birds in our small yard and more than 100 species in the surrounding Panguitch Valley.

We've hosted flocks of pinyon jays as well as Cassin's finches, dark-eyed juncos, pine siskins, black-headed grosbeaks, green-tailed towhees, northern flickers, yellow and Audubon warblers and many more. And we're still watching!

To view a photo, click here.

From Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide By Melinda Myers

SINCE my garden is in Wisconsin, I always look at a plant's hardiness to cold first. Likewise, my Southern gardening friends are particularly concerned with heat hardiness. Fortunately, there's help for all of us--heat and cold hardiness maps to help with making plant selections.

Cold hardiness ratings are based on the average minimum winter temperature in an area. The USDA Cold Hardiness Map (pictured in each issue of Birds & Blooms) is the most commonly accepted.

The American Horticultural Society more recently developed the Plant Heat-Zone Map, which reflects the duration and extremes of heat in each region. It's based on the average number of 86 degree or hotter days per year from 1974 to 1995. The 86 degree mark is where heat starts damaging plants.

On both maps, you'll notice small islands of warmer or colder areas surrounded by other zones. This is typically where elevation differences, bodies of water or urban areas create different growing conditions in a particular zone.

Your own landscape may have such islands, too. Fencing, stonework, construction materials and existing plants may block cold winds, reflect heat, cast cooling shade or create sheltered beds. These can be one whole growing zone warmer! Luckily for you, these microclimates can stretch your planting palette beyond what's recommended for your area.

To get a better idea of the microclimates in your backyard, conduct a hardiness rating of your own. Just monitor temperatures in different areas and record your planting successes and failures. Soon you'll have a personalized hardiness map customized to your yard.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll share more practical tips from Birds & Blooms Ultimate Garden Guide in upcoming newsletters. To order this useful book for yourself, click here.

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Birds & Blooms magazine brings beautiful backyards from across America into your living room--through vivid, full-color photos. It's like a friendly "chat" over the back fence with your bird-and flower-loving neighbors. 

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