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Dear $$firstname$$,

Everyone is looking for ways to save more money these days. Do you have a savvy solution to save money in your backyard? If so, it could be worth $300!

We’re currently accepting entries for our Backyard Budget Challenge. Get your ideas to us by October 1 to be eligible to win.

And don’t forget to look for more budget backyard solutions coming soon. After all, our goal is to bring you as much “News You Can Use” as we can.

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• READ ON TO DISCOVER...
• Bird of the Month
• Photo of the Month
• Plant of the Month
• Best of Glad You Asked
• Best of Bird Tales
• Project of the Month
• FREE Wallpaper
• Current Needs

Bird of the Month: House Finch

You’ve probably seen this red and brown-striped bird at your feeder or around your yard. The house finch frequents cities and suburbs.

Scientific Name: Carpodacus mexicanus.
Family: Finch.
Length: 6 inches.
Wingspan: 9-1/2 inches.
Distinctive Markings: Males have reddish foreheads, breasts and rumps. Females and juveniles are streaked grayish brown. All have brown-streaked bellies.
Nest: Low in shrubs, door wreaths or hanging flowerpots; lays four to five spotted bluish-white eggs.
Song: A varied warble, often ending in a long "veeerrr."
Habitat: Any wooded area or backyard.
Diet: Seeds of berries and weeds.

Backyard Favorites: Niger, sunflower, mixed birdseed, peanuts, fruit, suet and sugar water.

Listen to this bird's song by visiting our 50 Most Wanted Birds section on the Web site.

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Photo of the Month

Learn more about this cheery pair in our Photo Galleries.

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Plant of the Month: Camellia

While most garden plants spend winter taking a well-earned rest, camellias are just getting warmed up. These popular evergreens flower in the fall, winter, or early spring. They are great for landscaping and produce beautiful rose-shaped blooms.

Camellias have been cultivated for years in the Far East, their native region. Today, there are over 250 species and more than 3,000 varieties.

Common Name: Camellia.
Botanical Name: Camellia.
Hardiness: Zones 6 to 11, depending on variety.
Bloom Time: Fall, winter or early spring, depending on variety.
Size: 3 to 20 feet high.
Flower: Primarily red, pink, and white.
Light needs: Partial shade.
Growing Advice: Plant in a spot protected from hot, dry sun and cold, strong winds, but not in full shade, which will reduce flowering.
Prize Picks: There are a few hardier camellias available that may survive as far north as Zone 6. Camellia oleifera has fragrant 2-inch blossoms with pink centers. Another, Camellia sinensis, the “tea camellia,” makes a good screen planting for privacy. Its small white flowers bloom profusely from later summer until winter. Also try some favorites like Flame or Pink Perfection. Cold-hardy (to Zone 6) Polar Ice is very pretty.

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Best of Glad You Asked

Make Daylilies Last Years
I’m worried about the two old daylilies in my garden. They’ve thrived since 1921, but haven’t bloomed for the last several years. What can I do to save them? —Marquerite Harrison, Dyer, Tennessee

Melinda: Start by evaluating the growing conditions. Daylilies grow best in full to partial sun, so move them to a different location if necessary. Also check the fertilizers you’re using—high nitrogen content can prevent flowering.

If neither of these factors is the problem, the daylilies may be getting overcrowded. Give them more room by dividing crowded plants—just dig, divide the clump and replant smaller pieces in several areas. The divisions should bloom for you next season.

Fly South
How do birds like wrens and blackbirds know when it’s time to fly south? They often disappear from our place in August when the weather is still warm. —Mary Drogos, Glenview, Illinois

George: Birds rely on the light to tell them when to migrate. As the sun in the northern hemisphere moves south and the hours of daylight dwindle, it triggers an impulse within every migratory bird. This impulse ends only when the bird arrives at a wintering ground far to the south.

The birds instinctively follow ancient paths of migratory flight that are permanently chiseled into the face of the Earth, such as coastlines, major rivers and mountains.

Subscribers can access our Glad You Asked database with hundreds of questions and answers from George and Melinda.

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Best of Bird Tales

Birdie Scores a Birdie
While playing golf at a par-three course in St. Petersburg, Florida, my wife and I were paired with two young ladies for a foursome.

On the ninth hole, my tee shot landed to the right of the green. After I chipped up onto the green about three feet wide of the hole, a red-winged blackbird pounced madly on my ball until it rolled about four inches from the cup.

“Put it in the hole! Put it in the hole!” I yelled to the bird.

To everyone’s amazement, it listened and pushed the ball with its bill until clunk—it dropped in the cup.

I marked it as a birdie because I only hit the ball twice. Now I’m trying to figure out what I need to do to get an eagle.
—Dick Moran, Spring Hill, Florida

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Project of the Month

Now is the perfect time of year to start planning to harvest gourds. Take a look at how you can turn a gourd into a birdhouse to last for years! Start building your own.

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FREE Wallpaper

Download amazing wallpaper for your computer, like this beautiful bird, courtesy of Dick Cronberg. Take a look.

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Current Needs

We need your step-by-step birdhouse plants. Send them to us using our Submit Your Story form, found here.

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