Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,
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| Crystal Rennicke |
Most of our gardens are put to bed while we wait out these cold, winter months. But that doesn’t mean we have to completely ignore the gardening bug. Use this time to plan next season’s garden. Take time to research new plants you might want to try, think about which plants didn’t quite work and figure out what to plant in your containers. For a new take on container plants, check out this blog post that suggests planting annuals and perennials together!
Happy Gardening!
–Crystal
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Birds & Blooms Blog
Visit the gardening section of our blog for gardening advice and ideas. For example, find out how to prolong your leaf lettuce harvest with some of our blogger’s tips.
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RDA/GID |
Plant of the Month
Flowering dogwood
The flowering dogwood could have inspired the phrase "a breath of spring," even though its true flowers are green and small. It's the surrounding colorful bracts that put on the glorious show. These small trees are also lovely in fall, when foliage depends to pink, red or purple.
Common Names: Flowering dogwood.
Botanical Name: Cornus florida.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8.
Bloom Time: Spring.
Size: Up to 20 feet high and up to 25 feet wide.
Flower/Foliage: The true flowers are green, and only 1/2 inch across. The more showy bracts - modified leaves that resemble petals - are pink, white or rosy red and up to 2 inches wide; leaves may be variegated, with yellow, white, or pink margins. Foliage turns pink, deep red, or purple in fall.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Growing Advice: They are susceptible to borers, anthracnose and other diseases and should be planted in areas where foliage can dry well after dew or rain.
Prize Picks: Cherokee Chief has showy dark ruby-pink bracts. Cloud Nine has flowers its large, overlapping white bracts freely - even when young.
For more gorgeous plants that are beneficial to birds, check out our Top 10 berries for birds.
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Yard Smarts
Greenhouse Effect
My seedlings grow better early in the growing season because I cut the bottoms off 2-liter plastic bottles and use the tops to protect the tender sprouts. On warm days, just remove the cap to ventilate. —Shirley Salyers, Columbus, Ohio
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Question of the Month
RDA-GID |
Raised Flower Beds
I'd like to build several raised flower beds, but I'm not sure where to start. Can you give me a few basic tips? —Rachel Smeltzer, Mercer, Pennsylvania
Melinda: First select a location that will meet the light needs of the plants you want to grow. Then outline the shape of the flower bed and select a material for its border. Stone, plastic lumber and landscape timbers are a few commonly used materials that are long-lasting and environmentally friendly. Cut the existing grass short and cover the area with several layers of newspaper. This will kill the grass and weeds. Spread at least 12 inches of blended topsoil over the area. The soil will settle, so make sure to add a couple extra inches. Then lightly water the flower bed or wait 2 weeks for the soil to settle completely. Now you're ready to plant!
For answers to your gardening questions, click here.
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Frugal Backyard Tip
On-the-Go Garden Shed
Don’t throw out old rolling coolers. I use mine to store gardening supplies: fertilizers, gloves, string, shears and birdseed. I hot-glued an old outdoor cushion that matched my patio umbrella to the top. Now I pull my cooler around the yard and sit on it comfortably while gardening. All my tools are close at hand, and the squirrels no longer get into the birdseed because it’s kept in the cooler, too. When I’m finished in the garden, I simply roll the cooler back to the patio until the next time I need it. —Jerri Bennett, Richmond, Virginia
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Submit Your Story
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