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Dear $$firstname$$,
Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! Many gardens may be at rest now, but busy birders and gardeners hardly ever rest! You’re thinking about what to change in your yard next year, what to move and how things will improve. We thank you for starting 2007 with us and hope you enjoy everything that the year holds in store!
Photo: Elizabeth S. Reimann
Plant Cuttings...The Easy Way!
Want more of your favorite flowers this spring? Watch as Melinda Myers, our very own Plant Dr., shows you the easy way to take cuttings from impatiens, geraniums, vincas and more. Just follow her easy, step-by-step video and you’ll have more colorful flowers this summer. Now's the time to try it!
Talk to George and Melinda
AS regular readers of Birds & Blooms EXTRA know, George Harrison and Melinda Myers offer expert advice in their columns, Backyard Bird-Watcher and Plant Doctor. We invite you to send your ideas for future topics.
Click here to send your birding ideas to George.
Click here to send your gardening ideas to Melinda.
We’re also looking for young explorers who love being outdoors this time of year. So bundle up, grab a camera and head outside! Send winter photos of your little sprouts to us at Birds and Blooms. Be sure to include “Kindergarden” in the subject. View our Contributor Guidelines.
Fight Metal with Mettle
DOES your yard have a metal fence? Even beginning gardeners can plant a border garden to give the fence some character—a combination of ornamental grasses and perennials can improve your view without taking over your yard or your neighbor’s.
Silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) grows in clumps and varies in height from 4 to 8 feet. These grasses create a great backdrop for perennials and provide visual interest and screening from summer through winter. Switchgrass cultivars will also provide screening and seasonal interest. But you should avoid the native switchgrass—it’ll find its way into your neighbor’s yard.
Feather reed grass is a shorter, more stiffly upright-growing grass. For summer and fall color, plant some perennials around it, such as boltonia, aster, fernleaf yarrow and salvia.
Coneflowers and rudbeckia also make nice additions, but be careful—they spread easily. By deadheading, or removing their faded flowers, you’ll reduce the chances of their offspring moving into your neighbor’s yard.
Always be sure to select varieties of these plants that are hardy in your area and suitable for the growing conditions in your yard.
Hoping for Hostas
IF YOUR HOSTAS stop blooming, they may be overcrowded and need dividing. Overcrowded perennials often fail to flower. Dividing your hostas will give you more plants for your garden and encourage them to bloom.
If dividing the hostas doesn’t do the trick, you may want to fertilize them. If you have used bark mulch around the hostas, it can cause some minor nutrient deficiencies. As the mulch breaks down, it temporarily ties up nitrogen in the soil. However, the mulch is great for reducing weeds, minimizing water loss and improving the soil.
To counteract the nutrient deficiencies, add a little low-nitrogen fertilizer to your flower bed. Start with 2 cups of fertilizer per 100 square feet of garden. Don’t overdo it, though, because too much nitrogen also inhibits flowering.
Winter To-Do List
- Put out and maintain heated birdbaths.
- Force spring-flowering bulbs to bloom by placing them in a cool area (35° to 50°) for at least 12 weeks.
- Provide a variety of feeders and keep them filled and free of snow and ice.
- Place poinsettias in a cool, bright location (not in direct light) for longer blooming time.
- Build a snowman with a child.
Tending the Flock
SOMETIMES house sparrows will winter in dense arborvitae bushes and chase away other birds. They usually roost near their food sources, so to keep them out of your arborvitaes, you may have to remove the food they are eating on your property.
If you feed birds, try being more selective about the kinds of seeds you offer. House sparrows favor the ingredients in wild birdseed mixes, such as cracked corn, milo and millet. If you offer only sunflower, safflower and niger seeds, the house sparrows may move on to another location where there is more food to their liking.
From World Wide Country Tours!
Get a Free Hotel Night Up to $150.00!
Arrive a day early or stay a day longer on us! Book any exciting 2007 World Wide Country Tours vacation and get a FREE hotel night before or after your tour in the U.S. city where your vacation begins or ends.
Choose from our colorful Mexico’s Copper Canyon Adventure, our down-home Heart of Texas tour and many more. Visit countrytours.com for complete itineraries of all our fun-filled 2007 trips.
Use code BL32 when you make your reservation to claim your Bonus Hotel Night. But don’t wait to book your trip! This offer expires February 5, 2007!
Offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Hotel selection provided by World Wide Country Tours.
Exclusive Tour Operator of Reiman Publications
1-800/344-6918
5939 Country Lane, Greendale WI 53129-1429
Working Overtime
MONICA WINSTON of Eliot, Maine never saw mockingbirds where she grew up in New Hampshire. But when she moved to coastal Maine in the 1970s, she soon discovered she was sharing her backyard with one of these interesting birds:
“The fellow was easy to identify. Only a mockingbird can belt out such a high-speed rendition of borrowed songs. At first, it sure was fun listening to its operatic arias. But sometimes this male’s rapid-fire medleys got on my nerves. This was especially true on hot days, when its solos seemed to come faster and faster. Talk about annoying!
“However, I saw a more endearing side of this bird one day in late summer. It all started when I heard a crowd of agitated birds jeering and complaining at sunrise. After grabbing a cup of coffee, I got my binoculars and went out to see what all the commotion was about.
“The culprit was a large red-tailed hawk perched high atop an electrical tower in a nearby hayfield. As I watched, a local gang of crows appeared. They’re pretty conscientious about chasing away predators, but this hawk ignored their efforts and refused to leave. So the crows settled onto a pine tree and waited.
“Just when it seemed like this avian confrontation would end in a stalemate, I saw the mockingbird flash by me, shoot across the field and make a beeline for the hawk. It then proceeded to buzz the much-bigger bird, which again failed to react.
“Unfazed, the mockingbird again dove kamikaze-like at the hawk, this time causing it to duck. That apparently was the last straw. The hawk finally spread its wings and took off. At this point, I figured the mockingbird would soon be a morning snack. But to my surprise, the hawk beat a quick retreat.
“Then the mockingbird zoomed past me and headed back to its nesting area, as if it knew its job was complete. Although it was late in the season and the bird had already raised a brood or two, it still took its duty as the neighborhood defense minister seriously!”
Picture This
DURING A BITTER winter cold spell, Marceil Drake of Roanoke, Indiana looked out her living room window to see how the birds were doing.
Bring Bird Songs Inside
Finally, there’s a foolproof way to learn the songs of virtually any bird in your backyard. Bird Songs is an amazing new picture book that shows you full-color illustrations of 250 North American birds. Its digital audio player also plays a high-quality recording of each bird’s song. Buy it today from Country Store.
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