Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Have you voted for “Name This Plant” yet? We received thousands of name suggestions from our readers, and along with help from Terra Nova Nurseries, we’ve narrowed the finalists down to six! Be sure to cast your vote before April 8.

Also, do you receive our FREE Garden Club newsletter? Right now we have an amazing giveaway through it. To be eligible to win, all you have to do is sign up for the newsletter! Get more details here.

• READ ON TO DISCOVER...
• Bird of the Month
• Garden of the Month
• Best of Glad You Asked
• Project of the Month
• FREE Wallpaper

Bird of the Month: Mourning Dove

Though some people consider the mourning dove a pest, it sure is an entertaining bird. Look for this member of the pigeon family to build a nest in your yard this season. If they get started early enough, they could raise up to five broods! 

Can you recognize the “coo” of a mourning dove? Hear what it sounds like and learn how to attract this flier to your yard.

top

Garden of the Month

Joe and Ann Studer love gardening at their cottage home. Learn which perennials they can’t live without in their Missouri yard. Learn a few tricks and tips from Joe and Ann.

top

Best of Glad You Asked

Tree with Multiple Benefits
I’d like to plant a tall-growing deciduous tree near my deck. Can you recommend one that will flower and produce the kind of berries birds enjoy?
—Lottie Edwine, Rapid City, South Dakota

Melinda: Look for a tree that’s suitable to your growing conditions, hardy to your area and doesn’t create a mess with fruit.

Serviceberry (botanically known as Amelanchier) is tolerant of partial shade and hardy in Zones 2 to 9. It produced blueberry-like fruit that birds will pick clean off the tree. The size varies with the cultivar selected.

European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) grows 20 to 40 feet tall, prefers cool and moist soils in the summer and is hardy in Zones 3 to 7. Cedar waxwings especially enjoy its fruit.

A close relative that’s more tolerant of hot dry summers is the Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia). Hardy in Zones 4 to 7, it can reach heights of 40 feet. It has bright pinkish-red fruit and beautiful fall color.

And don’t forget about crabapples. Select cultivars bred for their disease resistance and persistent fruit. Some, like Birdland, are especially attractive to birds. Visit a reliable nursery to find the cultivar that best suits your needs.

Buzz Off
Do you have advice to keep flies away from oriole feeders? I bought a feeder that holds grape jelly and fruit, but the bugs seem more interested in it than the birds are.
—Karina Alpers, La Porte City, Iowa

George: Switch to sugar water to attract and keep orioles throughout the summer and into September. Sugar water (one part sugar to four parts water) in an orange plastic oriole feeder is easy to maintain and will attract a minimum number of bees and flies. These feeders are available at most birding stores.

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

top

Project of the Month

Did you see the Tipsy Pots in our April/May issue? We’ve received a lot of great comments about this project, so we wanted to feature it again. Build this inexpensive piece of garden art in under an hour!

top

FREE Wallpaper

Download great wallpaper for your computer, like this great photo of a singing meadowlark by Dick Cronberg.

top