Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Crystal Rennicke

Are your feeders filled? February is National Bird-Feeding Month. Offer a variety of treats like sunflower seeds, suet and safflower seeds. And of course, many birds love these berry-producing trees and shrubs in winter. Your feathered friends will thank you.

If the winter months leave you longing for spring, bury your blues with a windowsill garden, get a jump-start on the growing season or force bulbs indoors. Before you know it, spring will be here.

Help us name a new catmint from Terra Nova Nurseries. Click here to submit your entry.

Happy Gardening!
—Crystal

##\keycode.PSCopyHTML##

READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Question of the Month
• Frugal Backyard Tip
• Submit Your Story

My Monet weigela, courtesy of Proven Winners, www.provenwinners.com

Plant of the Month

Weigela
Even though this beautiful shrub has brilliant blooms hummingbirds can’t resist, there are plenty of other reasons to sing its praises. Weigela is quite versatile, and will adapt to many soil types. Plus, it’s easy to grow, reliable and can be planted in flower beds or even containers!
Common name: Weigela.
Botanical name: Weigela florida.
Bloom time: Late spring to early summer and sporadically throughout the season.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
Flowers: Showy bell- to funnel-shaped pink, red and sometimes yellow or white blooms, which are usually 1-1/2 inches long.
Size: 3 to 9 feet high and 3 to 12 feet wide.
Light needs: Full sun or partial shade.
Growing Advice: Plant in fertile, well-draining soil. Make sure to leave enough room if planting a variety that will have a wide growth.
Prize Picks: My Monet is a small 18-inch plant that is great for containers. Pink Poppet offers a profusion of pink blooms on dwarf plants. Dark Horse has bronze foliage and pink flowers.

Looking for new plants to introduce into your garden? Click here for a list of newcomers for 2010.

top

Yard Smarts

Savvy Seed Storage
I rinse prescription-medicine bottles and use them to store seeds I collect from my garden. For ID, either use a permanent marker or print out labels on the computer. –Natalie Fevola, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

For more veggie tips and ideas, pick up a copy of Grow Veggies For Less, on newsstands near you. 

top

Question of the Month

Fast-Growing Puzzler
Q: Can you tell me what this plant is? It grows about 12 to 14 inches tall. It has thick leaves and spreads easily. –Marilyn Burnett, Chardon, Ohio

Melinda: Your mystery plant was once considered a star in a flower border, but many now consider it a weedy annual.
 It’s commonly known as snow-on-the-mountain, but you may want to use its botanical name, Euphorbia marginata, to avoid confusion with several other flowers that share its common name. This low-growing, spreading plant prefers full sun to partial shade. It also is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies.
 The plant readily reseeds, which makes it a welcome filler in some gardens and an unwelcome weed in others. Be careful when working with and around this plant. The white sap, latex, can cause a severe allergic reaction to skin, and all parts can cause severe discomfort if ingested.

For more answers from Melinda, click here.

top

Frugal Gardener Tip

Five-Minute Feeders
Looking for an inexpensive way to feed your feathered friends this winter? Just about any container can be used as a bird feeder. These 5 everyday items make excellent feeders and you probably have them lying around the house:
–Two-liter soda bottle
–Milk jug
–Terra-cotta flowerpot saucer
–Aluminum pie plate
–Mesh bags (used to hold grapes or other fruit, above).

top

Submit Your Story

Have you committed a backyard blunder? We want to hear it! Click here to submit your story.

Submit your story»

top