Dear $$firstname$$,

Crystal Rennicke

Hopefully this newsletter finds you rested and relaxed after the holiday weekend. Over Memorial Day, I finished planting the last of my annuals and was lucky enough to spend the rest of the weekend out on the deck enjoying a cookout and reading a book.

What’s going on in your garden? We’d love for you to share photos of your latest backyard project and hear stories from your neck of the woods. Please feel free to email me at crystal@backyardgardenclub.com.

If you received this newsletter from us, you’re automatically entered in a contest to win a garden shed from Lifetime Products valued at $1,199! If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please use this link to sign up for yourself.

Happy Gardening!
--Crystal

READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Question of the Month
• Test Your Butterfly IQ
• June Regional Checklist
• Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month
• Current Needs

Submit Your Story

Plant of the Month

Fuchsia
Botanical name: Fuschsia.
Bloom time: Summer to first frost.
Hardiness: Zones 8 to 10; grow as an annual elsewhere.
Flower colors: Pink, white, red, purple and orange.
Flower shape: Tubular and pendulous single or double blossoms.
Height: Trailing varieties: 6 to 24 inches; shrubs: 8 inches to 10 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Soil Type: Rich, moist and well-draining.
Recommendations: Fuchsia magellanica has abundant red and violet flowers on 3-foot stems and can be grown as a perennial as far north as Zone 6 in a sheltered location with mulch for winter protection. Thalia fuchsia is an upright form that works especially well in planting beds when paired with Dropmore Scarlet honeysuckle.
Attracts: Hummingbirds and butterflies.

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Yard Smarts

Suit of Armor
No matter how hard I tried, I was constantly cutting off our young rose plants at ground level with our weed trimmer. So, I took large food cans with both ends removed and slipped them over my small plants. Now I can trim around them without damaging the plants. —Charles Childers, Rathdrum, Idaho

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Question of the Month

Flowering Elephant Ears
Q: I was quite surprised last year when my elephant’s ear bloomed for the first time. Why did this happen? –Mary Franks, Reagan, Tennessee

Melinda: Elephant’s ear (Alocasia) are best known for their attractive foliage. If grown in perfect conditions, these tropical beauties will bloom once they mature.

Most gardeners remove any flowers that form so the plant’s energy goes into producing more attractive leaves. If the flowers are left on the plant, clusters of red or orange berries develop.

Enjoy the show…you may get a repeat performance next season.

See more of Melinda’s answers

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Angie Watters

Test Your Butterfly IQ

How much do you know about butterflies and their host plants? Find out by putting your “butterfly IQ” to the test with this fun quiz, matching each butterfly to the plant where it typically lays its eggs.

Whether or not you’re able to “net” all the answers, when you’re done, you’ll have a list of a few plants you can add to your garden to attract more butterflies!

For the answers, see the list below.

Butterflies	Host Plants
1. American snout	A. Aster
2. Viceroy	B. Hackberry, sugarberry
3. American lady	C. Passionflower
4. Tiger swallowtail	D. Milkweed
5. Pearl crescent	E. Everlasting
6. White peacock	F. Clover
7. Zebra longwing	G. Choke cherry, ash or tulip trees
8. Clouded sulphur	H. Water hyssop, ruellia
9. Great spangled fritillary	I. Violet
10. Monarch	J. Willow

Answers: 1-B; 2-J; 3-E; 4-G; 5-A; 6-H; 7-C; 8-F; 9-I; 10-D

For more about butterflies, click here.

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June Regional Checklist

There is plenty to do out in the yard this time of year. Keep the work a pleasure by avoiding the heat of the day, and don’t forget to pause and admire the ever-changing beauty surrounding you.

• Northeast
• Northwest
• Southwest
• Central
• Southeast

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Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Timesaving Tip
Here’s a great way to keep your tube bird feeders filled. I fill recycled juice bottles with seed and invert them onto my bird feeders. They’re held in place with duct tape. As the birds eat from the feeder, seed drains from the bottle to keep it filled. It’s a great timesaver and good for the environment and birds, too. —June Marie Weaver, Harrisonburg, Virginia

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Current Needs

We are searching for tried-and-true tips from longtime gardening friends and relatives. Remember to send along a photo of the gardener you admire! Click here.

Step Back to the Victory Era!

The editors of Reminisce magazine bring you Reminisce Through the Decades: The 1940s, a 6-hour-plus, three-DVD set of real-life stories from the ’40s! For more information, go to www.reminisce.com.

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