Publication: Garden Guides
Planting for Wildlife | |
Subscribe FREE to Garden Guides by clicking here.
GardenGuides Newsletter
May 30, 2006
------------------------------------------------------------
Remember to visit the Garden Guides blog!
Garden Guides Blog
------------------------------------------------------------
Comment The Post Below...
Summer Care of Roses
[www.jacksonandperkins.com]
* Deadheading:
Most modern roses, even some heirloom varieties, will bloom
all summer if properly groomed. "Deadheading" refers to the
process of removing old or spend flowers from the bush.
Whether you've been cutting the flowers to enjoy indoors or
have left them on the bush to beautify the garden, proper
trimming ensures strong reblooming. By deadheading roses
instead of allowing them to form seed hips, you're signal-
ling the plant to produce more flowers. It's also a way to
continually prune and shape the plant.
* Fertilizing:
While most rose gardeners fertilize in the spring when
growth begins, midsummer feeding sometimes gets overlooked.
Roses are heavy feeders — it takes a lot of energy to
produce all those large, magnificent blooms! Many different
fertilizers do the job — you can choose from granular,
liquid, organic or slow-release. While each formula has its
advantages, keep in mind that roses prefer a fairly balanced
fertilizer where the N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium)
ratios are fairly even (i.e. 15-15-15 or 5-10-5). High-
nitrogen fertilizers without enough phosphorus and potassium,
such as lawn fertilizers, will produce lush green foliage
while sacrificing blooms.
* pH:
pH measures the acidity (or alkalinity) of your soil. It's
an important consideration because of its affect on
fertilizer. If soil is overly acidic or alkaline, then
nutrients might be "tied up" in the soil and won't be avail-
able to the plant, no matter how much fertilizer you apply.
Roses prefer slightly acidic soils (pH of 6.5-7.0). Since
some fertilizers can acidify the soil and since some areas
have alkaline water, it's a good idea to check your soil pH
and adjust accordingly by adding garden lime (dolomitic lime
works well) if too acid, aluminum sulfate or acidifying
fertilizer if too alkaline. Adding more organic matter
(compost, peat moss, decomposed bark, etc.) to the soil also
helps to stabilize the effects of low or high pH.
* Watering:
Roses like a good, deep soak to promote deep rooting and
they will actually develop drought tolerance if established
this way. Frequent light waterings promote shallow roots
that will depend on frequent watering. Applying the water
slowly with soaker hoses or drip irrigation allows the water
to soak in rather than running off, keeps water off the
foliage (wet leaves spread fungal diseases), and reduces the
puddling which can cause clay soils to form a hard surface
less permeable to water. Mulching helps by reducing
evaporation, retaining moisture, and preventing the soil
surface from caking. If you use overhead watering, do it in
the morning so that the foliage will have plenty of time to
dry off before nighttime. Roots need air as well as water,
so don't keep the soil continually soaked. Allow the top
inch to dry off before watering again.
* Pests and Diseases:
Early detection and prevention keep these problems under
control. While good things come in threes, so do bad. Since
aphids are mainly a spring pest, the "Big Three" summer
pests are thrips, spider mites, and in the eastern and
southern United States, Japanese Beetles.
------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Just Cover Up Nasty Odors, DESTROY THEM
The Amazing Odor Destroyers
The Amazing Odor Destroyers Eliminates foul odors from the
air without the use of perfumed sprays or dangerous chemicals.
Simply fill with a small amount of water and place the stain-
less steel discs on top.
Odor molecules react with the metal alloy, water and air and
are disintegrated into fragments that the human nose can no
longer detect. You can even use them on your hands to remove
stubborn odors like garlic and fish. A set of three can now be
yours for $19.99. To order visit:
Odor Destroyers
------------------------------------------------------------
Planting for Wildlife
By Terry L. Yockey
When I first moved into my previous home 19 years ago, my
small backyard was a tangled mess of weeds and overgrown
bushes and trees! Although there had been many previous
owners, most had not had the time nor the desire to try and
domesticate it. Even with all these faults, I loved it! I
liked the untamed feel and especially all the birds and
wildlife (chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels) that lived
there.
Keeping all the positives and yet also having my herb and
flower garden, was my first priority. I began to research
what was needed to have a backyard that would be a home to
many birds and animals. I found out that there is a program
through the National Wildlife Federation in which you can
become certified by meeting their requirements. I sent for
the information packet which gives the titles of several
helpful books, I applied, and was eventually accepted and
given a certificate which designates the backyard as habitat
no. 5391.
One of the most important and also one of the easiest
requirements is water. Most people have put out a bird bath
as a lawn decoration at one time or the other. Bird baths
should be placed within 5 or 6 feet of a tree or shrub, so
that birds will have a place to fly to in case of danger. It
also makes them feel much more secure when they are bathing.
It's very important to change the water daily. We also put a
small pond and waterfall in a few years ago, which has proven
to be a great attraction to many species of birds. Birds need
water during the winter as well as the summer. It takes a
considerable amount of a birds body heat to convert snow into
drink. I use a specially designed immersion heater to keep
the water in the bird bath from freezing.
The second prerequisite is a food supply. We all are
acquainted with the multitude of bird feeders on the market,
but many shrubs, trees, flowers and herbs, are also good
food sources. My favorite tree is the mountain ash. It has
beautiful orange berries in the fall which are very popular
with cedar waxwings, cardinals, bluebirds, robins, and many
other birds. In the Spring when the orioles and hummingbirds
come back, I make sure the feeders are out early, but the
flowering crabapples are always more attractive.
Continued...
------------------------------------------------------------
Organize your Closet with the Smart Grip Tool Holder
Quickly organize all of your handled tools, mops and brooms
with our Smart Grip Tool Holder. The wall-mounted holder
grips handles fast, holding each tool safely with a secure
and steady grip. Use the Smart Grip Tool Holder for:
*Golf Clubs *Axes *Garden Tools
*Fishing Rods *Brooms *Shovels
*Baseball Bats *Rakes *Mops
*Tennis Rackets *Hammers *And MORE!
The Smart Grip Tool Holder is great for organizing tools in
your garage, garden shed, laundry room or basement. This
handy wall organizer can be yours for $9.99 or save $4 when
you order two or more at just $7.99 each! Visit:
Smart Grip Tool Holder
------------------------------------------------------------
The hummingbirds especially like the brighter flowers like
red bee balm, coral bells, honeysuckle and daylilies. I grow
swiss chard in the summer which is a big favorite of the
finches along with the seeds of the herb lovage. Some other
good plantings are russian olive, dogwood, and pine trees.
The winterberry, viburnums, and serviceberry are all shrubs
which have berries for the birds to eat all winter. The
wonderful thing is that most of these trees and shrubs are
also beautiful plants for the home landscape.
To supplement the berries and other natural foods I also
have several types of bird feeders. I've found that each
type of bird has a favorite feeder. One of the most popular
is the suet feeder. Chicadees, nuthatches, blue jays and
especially woodpeckers, frequent it all year round. During
the summer months, I only put out enough suet to last a day
or it will go rancid in the heat. One of my favorite sights
is watching the woodpeckers feeding their young from the
suet feeder. The most popular seed for the other feeders is
the small black oil sunflower seeds. The sparrows have to
wait under the feeders for the other birds to crack them
open and don't monopolize the feeders.
Make sure you position your feeders where you can enjoy
viewing the birds from your windows. I've found if you can't
see them, your interest diminishes quickly and the feeders
don't get filled! Don't be discouraged if you don't see
birds at your new feeders right away. It may take a while
for the birds to find them, but once they do they'll be
regular visitors.
By all means, when picking out feeders, spend the extra
money and buy ones the squirrels can't get into. I resisted
buying them for years and spent much more replacing ruined
feeders the squirrels had chewed through and seeds they
gobbled for hours on end. The last requirement for making
your backyard a year- round home for the birds, is shelter.
Ideally, your backyard should be entirely surrounded with
cover.
Continued...
------------------------------------------------------------
The SOLID BRAND TOOL COMPANY Presents the
18V 4 Piece Cordless Power Tool Kit
Get 18V power anywhere you need it with the SOLID TOOLS 18V
Cordless Power Tool Kit. Featuring an 18-volt rechargeable
battery, this cordless drill/driver, sander, jigsaw and
flashlight offer you the perfect balance of power and
convenience for tackling any project - any time, anywhere!
Interchangeable battery pack switches from tool to tool on
the fly and provides plenty of power. The tool kit includes
a rechargeable battery, charger base, AC charger adapter,
plus a variety of drill and screwdriver bits that store away
conveniently inside a custom fold-up storage case. And
for just $59.99... it's a bargain. Visit:
Cordless Power Tool Set
------------------------------------------------------------
The best cover is thick enough to keep out predators and the
wind and snow of our long Minnesota winters. Our arborvitaes
work very well and harbor many birds every winter. The blue
spruce trees are a favorite nesting place each Spring. One
Spring we had a cardinal, 2 robins, redpolls, and some
sparrows, all nesting at the same time!
A problem for many birds such as woodpeckers and chickadees
is that they are cavity nesters. They require a hole in a
decaying or hollow tree to build their nest. Since most of
us don't want to leave a dead tree in our yard, we can help
them by putting out bird houses. Make sure the houses are
out early in the Spring when the birds are scouting out
their nesting spots. Each bird species has special require-
ments such as hole size and location of the house. The best
way to provide the correct shelter is to go to the library
and research the needs of the bird you are interested in
attracting.
All birdhouses need to be cleaned well after each nesting.
There are many parasites that stay in the houses and prey on
the baby birds that are born the next year.
There are many reasons to make your yard a home for the
birds. Did you know that even hummingbirds supplement their
diet with insects? So the next time you are at the nursery
buying a flower, a tree or a shrub for your yard, why not
choose one for the birds and butterflies!
-----------------------------------------------------------
GopherCentral's Question of the Week
Do you think Condi Rice should run for President in 2008?
Question of the Week
-----------------------------------------------------------
Visit the ARCHIVES:
Garden Guide Archives
***********************************************************
More Fun and Amusements by email: F-R-E-E Newsletters
************************************************************
END OF GARDENGUIDES
Copyright 2006 by NextEra Media. All rights reserved.
 E-Mail this issue
Subscribe FREE to Garden Guides by clicking here.
|