Can’t view the images? Click here to see them. To change your preferences, see the instructions at the bottom.
ADVERTISEMENT
##\keycode.sidebarbookHTML## ##\keycode.sidebarhtml## ##\keycode.LeftSkyHTML##
|
Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,
Kirsten Sweet
I don’t know about you, but lately I cannot get enough of the outdoors. Even though I live in an apartment building and don’t have my own backyard, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a wandering eye.
I recently admired my cousin’s thriving tomato plants and watched the cutest family of ducks waddle around a park at the lake. I am sure there’s a lot going on in your neck of the woods, too, so why not share? Join us in the Birds & Blooms Community to share what is going on around you! See you there!
Kirsten Sweet
Birds & Blooms
Are you on Facebook? Join us on Facebook today for interesting bird and garden stories and exclusive updates!
Great American Backyard Campout®
Join National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout®. Create lasting memories by connecting with family and friends in the great outdoors. It’s something simple you can do to promote happier, healthier children. Find out more by visiting the website.
Photo: Roland Jordahl
Bird of the Month: Gray Catbird
Don't let the gray catbird fool you with its mimic calls. It can easily mimic popular backyard birds.
Learn how to attract a gray catbird to your yard, and listen to its song.
Best of Glad You Asked
Hip to the Birds
Do rose hips grow on only certain types of roses? I have never seen them on my floribunda or hybrid tea roses, and I’d like to provide some for the birds to eat. –Debbie West, DeWitt, Arkansas
Melinda: There is a way to encourage your roses to form hips. All you have to do is stop cutting and deadheading the flowers in fall. This allows the plants to switch from flowering mode to fruit formation.
Most rose hips are red and vary in size, depending on the species of plant. Shrub roses generally form more and showier fruit than their hybride counterparts. The Dog rose (Rosa canina) and rugosa rose (Rosa rogusa) are known for their large, showy hips that are high in vitamin C.
Freshen Up
My concrete birdbath has seen better days, so I’d like to paint it. Can you suggest a paint that will be safe for the birds, yet won’t peel off?
–Inez Luke, Tifton, Georgia
George: I would not paint the birdbath. Paint often leads to problems in birdbaths that may cause the birds to stop using the bath altogether.
Project of the Month
A juice bottle and a few scraps of wood are all you need to make this surprisingly handsome feeder. Get started today!
FREE Wallpaper
Download great wallpaper for your computer, like this swallowtail by Leisa Royce!
Talk to Us!
We are looking for budget tips for our new section “For Less”. Send us your best budget idea and photos by using Submit Your Story form. If we use it in the magazine, we’ll pay you $25!
This email was sent to: ##emailaddress##
HAVE A FRIEND who enjoys bird-watching, bird feeding or backyard gardening? Feel free to forward this newsletter! If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please use this link to sign up for yourself. If you do not want to receive further editions of this newsletter, please use this link to unsubscribe. If you would like to change or edit your email preferences, please visit your Personal Preferences page.
To learn more about Reiman Media Group’s use of personal information, please read our Privacy Policy.
- Copyright 2010 Reiman Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 5400 S. 60th St., P.O. Box 991, Greendale WI 53129-0991
- 1-800/344-6913
© Copyright 2010 Reiman Media Group, Inc.