Dear $$firstname$$,

Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes a hummingbird feeder that's huge, a high-traffic garden path, some clever containers and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> Hummers "Swarm" Giant Feeder
> Garden Paths Get Lots of Traffic
> Health Food for Plants
> Readers Share Feeding Tips
> Flower "Bed" Becomes Bears' Den
> Get Clever With Containers
> Squelch Those Squirrels!

Hummers "Swarm" Giant Feeder

SOME PEOPLE think Dick B. of Ridgway, Colorado is exaggerating when he compares the hummingbirds in his backyard with a swarm of bees. But once they see "the world's largest hummingbird feeder" there, they realize this is no tall tale.

"My wife, Janey, and I have fed hummingbirds for more than 25 years at our ranch here in southwestern Colorado," Dick says. "As more hummers came, we had to find ways to keep them all satisfied. So I began making bigger hummingbird feeders--first 2-liter feeders, then a 1-gallon feeder. Now I have a 5-gallon feeder that seems to keep all the 200 or so hummers happy.

"I made the feeder from a large watercooler jug and a few plastic microwave containers. The containers are attached to the jug with plastic ball valves, which control the flow of sugar water. I also drilled the lids of each container with 40 small feeder holes and attached a large brass ring around the rim of each dish for the birds to perch on.

"July and August--when the young ones join in--are the busiest times here. I'll add two more dishes to the feeder to accommodate 160 hummers at once!

"By mid-September, our friends leave for winter homes. We miss them, but it also gives Janey a well-earned rest. She's the one who keeps the feeders stocked, making 14 gallons of nectar at a time!"

To view a photo, click here.

Garden Paths Get Lots of Traffic

WHEN Jan K. began planning garden pathways for her backyard in Bainbridge Island, Washington, she wanted them to be attractive, permanent and, most of all, inexpensive.

She had her eye on brick or flagstone but soon discovered that those materials didn't fit her budget. So she found an alternative that was much more affordable.

"The city was tearing up some of its streets, so I asked a road crew if they'd be willing to bring some of the asphalt to my house," she explains. "They were delighted."

By delivering three truckloads to Jan's home, the crew saved the city the $200 it would cost to haul the material away to a dump site. "And I was thrilled because I got my 'stones' free!" Jan adds.

She and her husband spent weeks digging paths, hauling sand, breaking the asphalt into smaller pieces, fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle and making sure the paths were level. Finally, the gaps between the asphalt were filled with concrete.

"Our friends were skeptical when they first heard our plan to build garden paths from old roadbed. But now they agree that our project turned out beautifully," Jan says.

Health Food for Plants

FROM Macomb, Illinois, Dee A. shares this helpful hint for lush indoor plants: Save the water used to boil vegetables and eggs. After it cools down, water your houseplants with it. It's filled with nutrients that are great for plants.

Readers Share Feeding Tips

HERE ARE some tried-and-true bird-feeding tips from readers that will help increase the activity at your bird feeders.

Metal shower curtain hooks are great for hanging bird feeders, says Lorraine N. of Backus, Minnesota. "The hooks easily fit over small tree branches, and I simply snap them open to remove my feeders for refilling."

Tube feeders are sometimes ransacked by pigeons, Steller's jays and starlings. Sally A. of Port Alberni, British Columbia keeps the larger birds away from the feeder by shortening the perches and cutting off the bottom plate so they could no longer land to eat. "Now we enjoy watching the little guys feed again," she says.

An apple makes a great "edible feeder", says Lu R. of Spencer, Iowa. "I peel one side of an apple, score it a little bit and hang it from a tree branch with a wire. The finches really love apples in the summer, and sometimes butterflies will stop by for some juice, too!"

A pizza pan easily solved the problem of spilled seed under the bird feeder for Jayne B. of Greenwood, South Carolina.

"My husband, Stan, took the pan bored a hole in the center the size of our feeder's anchor post. Then he placed it on the post directly beneath the feeder, using a simple hose clamp to hold it in place.

"The pizza pan now collects seed thrown from the feeder, and the birds seem to enjoy having this extra plate to feed on."

Flower "Bed" Becomes Bears' Den

IT COULD BE animal magnetism that draws people to the flower bed in the Portland, Oregon yard of Wallace F.

Inspired by fellow Birds & Blooms readers who have used old bed frames to create flower "beds", Wallace gives his own creation a special touch by adding cuddly teddy bears.

"Small children love the bears," he reports. "Hundreds of people have stopped by to see them...they're especially enchanted when I turn on a reading light so Mr. Bear can read his book in the evening while a radio hidden in the bushes plays soft music."

As fall nears, Wallace says curious passersby wonder what will happen to the bears during the winter. "Of course, bears hibernate then," he explains. So, in early November, the bears head indoors for a well-deserved rest and the bed frame is spruced up with a fresh coat of paint.

Visitors can bear-ly wait for the following summer's colorful display!

To view a photo, click here.

Get Clever With Containers

From Birds & Blooms' Ultimate Gardening Guide By Melinda Myers

WHETHER you lack gardening space, have excess plants or just need a little color in a spot where there's no soil, container gardens can help. These mini gardens allow us to do more than just add plants to the landscape--they can help extend the gardening season, since you can move them in and out of cold and heat extremes.

Generally, you should choose containers that fit your garden design and the plants you want to grow. Since my plant palette changes every year, I use adaptable planters that complement a variety of plants. Don't worry about using pots that all look alike--a variety of containers is just as interesting as a variety of flowers in your garden.

Many gardeners visit rummage sales and antique stores to find something just right. In fact, you can look at everything as a potential container...here are just a few ideas:

> Convert an old chair with a broken seat into a planter. Replace the seat with a container full of flowers and vines.

> Use an old bike as a plant stand. Line the baskets with peat moss, coconut fiber or containers, fill with a potting mix and plant.

> Update the familiar "old boot" planter to grow hens and chicks. How about converting one of your kids' old brightly colored rain boots, or your old golf or bowling shoes?

> Use leftover rain gutters for small planters. Mount them on the wall or hang with chains at a convenient, attractive height.

> Build a vertical planter with 2x4s. Create a frame of wood, back the planting area with plywood and front it with plastic covered with chicken wire or lattice to hold the soil in place. Cut small planting holes in the plastic and chicken wire. Fill it with impatiens, colorful lettuce or other plants to create a garden in even the smallest space.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You'll find much more information in the Birds & Blooms Ultimate Garden Guide. We'll share more practical tips from this new book in upcoming newsletters. To order a copy for yourself, click here.

FRIENDS will get a laugh when they watch our exclusive Birds & Blooms squirrel-proof bird feeder in action. Its spring-loaded seed guard keeps squirrels out and gives them a piece of your mind, too, as it exposes one of three message labels included: "Nuts to you, Mr. Squirrel!"; "Birds-1 Squirrels-0"; and "Sorry, Squirrel, no free lunch." The squirrel's weight on the perch closes the seed guard, every time, never fails. Hanger and pole mounting hardware included. Large, 1-1/2-gallon capacity. Made in the USA of durable powder-coated steel.

To order the Birds & Blooms Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder from Country Store On-line,
click here.

To order a 68" long Pole Kit with adapters, 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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