Tips for the Garden - November 2021

Attracting Birds to your Neighborhood

The Missouri Department of Conservation stresses the decline of songbirds in our area. Nature needs our help as the nesting areas for songbirds is diminishing. These beautiful birds are a great insect removal system for us! Keeping things organic and safe are of utmost importance.

There are a number of ways to attract birds to your garden, from planting native plants to providing safe stopover areas for them to eat, drink and nest.

Provide water year-round - A simple birdbath is a great start. Change water every 2-3 days in summer and use a birdbath heater in the winter. Place the water container about 10 feet from dense shrubs or other cover that predators may use.

Then, install Natives Plants-- Select a variety of native plants to offer year-round food in the form of seeds, berries, nuts, and nectar. Try to recreate the plant ecosystem native to your area. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide excellent cover through all seasons, check grownative.org for amazing lists of local natives great for pollination and food sources.

Eliminate insecticides in your yard - Insects are the primary source of food for many bird species and are an important source of protein and fats for growing juvenile birds.

Keep dead trees - Dead trees provide cavity-dwelling places for birds to raise young and as a source to collect insects for food. Many species will also seek shelter from bad weather inside these hollowed out trees.

Put out nesting boxes - Make sure the boxes have ventilation holes at the top and drainage holes below. Do not use a box with a perch, as house sparrows are known to sit on a nesting box perch and peck at other birds using the nesting box. Be sure to monitor the boxes for invasive animal species known to harm or out-compete native species.

Build a brush pile in a corner of your yard - Start with larger logs and top with smaller branches. Some birds will hunt, roost or even nest in brush piles.

Put out birdfeeders--Bird feeders are great sources of supplemental food during times of food scarcity, and also enhance bird viewing opportunities. Wintertime is beneficial for this as the natural source of pods and seeds become scarce.

Remove invasive plants from your wildlife habitat - Many invasive plants out-compete the native species favored by birds, insects and other wildlife. Check with your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System office for information on plant species to avoid.

I hope you enjoy these tips for enjoying more wildlife in your yards!
Enjoy every minute!

 

Sandi Hillermann McDonald

Garden Solutions - January 2017

WINTER BIRD MYTHS

       The world of birding is full of myths. Some have been handed down for generations, while others have cropped up more recently.  Here are a few of the common myths.  Hopefully, I can help dismiss these myths once and for all. 

MYTH #1:  Birds will freeze to death when temperatures get well below zero.

FACT:  Birds are well equipped to survive the coldest of temperatures.  They store fat during the short days of winter to keep themselves warm during the long nights.  During those freezing nights, they fluff their feathers to trap heat and slow their metabolism to conserve energy.  They also look for good places to roost, whether it’s a birdhouse, natural tree cavity, grass thicket, evergreen or shrub.

MYTH #2:  American robins always fly south for winter.

FACT:  If there is sufficient food on their breeding grounds, American robins, bluebirds, and a host of finches and owls remain in the area where they spent the summer.

MYTH #3:  You should take birdhouses down in winter because birds don’t use them.

FACT:  On the contrary—a birdhouse makes a great roosting house in winter.  Eastern bluebirds will pile into houses to spend cold nights.  One photographer once even snapped a picture of 13 male bluebirds in a single house.

MYTH #4:  If you leave town during winter, the birds that rely on the food from your feeders will die.

FACT:  Research has proven this one wrong.  Scientists have shown that chickadees, for example, will eat only 25% of their daily winter food from feeders.  They find the other 75% in the wild.

MYTH #5:  Birds always migrate in flocks.

FACT:  Though many birds migrate in flocks—common nighthawks, American robins, swallows and European starlings, for example—other species migrate alone.

MYTH #6 Birds’ feet will stick to metal bird feeders and suet cages.

FACT:  Most suet cages have a laminated covering, so you don’t have to worry about birds’ feet sticking to it.  But in general, their feet can endure cold weather.  Birds have a protective scale like covering on the feet, and special veins and arteries that keep their feet warm.

MYTH #7:  Peanut butter will get stuck in birds’ throats, and they will die.

FACT:  Peanut butter is a very nourishing food for birds, especially in winter when the production of fat is important to their survival.  The myth that it will stick to their throats simply isn’t true.

MYTH #8:  Woodpeckers drill on house siding in winter for food or to create nesting cavities.

FACT:  Though there are cases where woodpeckers find food in wood siding (and may even nest inside the boards), nearly all the drilling in late winter is done to make a noise to court mates.  This is their way of singing a song to declare territory.

MYTH #9:  If you have warm water in a birdbath when the temperatures is below freezing, birds will bathe in it and freeze to death from wet feathers.

FACT:  Birds will drink from a heated birdbath, but if the temperature is below freezing, they will not bathe in it and get their feathers wet. 

 

See you next time,

Sandi Hillermann McDonald

 

Garden Solutions - November 2016

            In November, you still want to watch for dry periods and water your outdoor plants when the soil dries out, especially for new plantings. Roots of plants grow in winter months and need moisture through winter. You can plant trees and shrubs anytime the ground is not frozen. This will give the plant more time to become established before the next hot summer.

            Add a fire pit to your outdoor living space and enjoy cool evenings around a crackling fire. Remember to turn your clocks back the first weekend in November. There are many things to do in the yard and garden before the season ends.

            There are many things to do in the yard and garden before the season ends. So, dig in to the tasks listed below and enjoy the outdoors as much as you can!

• Keep leaves raked up and off the lawn to prevent injury to turf grasses. You can also mow over leaves to pick them up or mulch them into the lawn.

• Continue mowing lawn grasses as long as they keep growing, 2-3” high is good.

• Apply Winterizer fertilizer to lawns to strengthen plant stems and roots for winter growth and to promote early spring green up.

• Plant tulips, daffodils, and other spring bulbs now. Add bone meal or bulb food when planting per the directions on the label.

• Continue to water perennial beds, shrubs and trees when the soil dries out - up until the ground freezes.

• Toward the end of the month, be sure to shut off and drain any outdoor water pipes or irrigation systems that may freeze during cold weather. Roll up and store garden hoses on a warm, sunny day.

• Cover garden ponds with bird or pond netting to help prevent leaves from fouling the water. Oxygen depletion from rotting organic matter can cause winter kill of pond fish. The water freezing over can also block oxygen for fish. So, take steps to prevent garden ponds from freezing solid. Floating a water garden heater in the pond, will lessen the chance of ice damage.

• Now is a good time to collect soil samples to test for pH and nutritional levels. Lime will increase the pH level if it is low. Sulfur will lower the pH level if it is high. If lime is needed, apply at the rate of 50 lbs. per 500 sq. ft.

• Till your vegetable garden when cold weather arrives to expose many insect pests to winter cold, and reduce their numbers in next year’s garden.

• Mulch strawberries for winter with straw. This should be done after several nights of 20 F, but before temperatures drop into the teens. Apply straw loosely, but thick enough to hide plants from view.

• Set up a variety of bird feeder types to get the best assortment of birds to come to your yard. Tube feeders are good for songbirds, platform feeders are good for cardinals and larger birds, and suet is a great source of fat and energy for woodpeckers and all bird types. Birds also appreciate a source of unfrozen drinking water during the winter. Use one of the many styles of birdbath heaters or heated birdbaths available at garden centers.

• After the first hard freeze, mulch rose bushes heavily to a depth of 12” to cover the plant graph area properly using bark, compost, or straw with rose collars. Prune back longer canes to 24-36” to prevent whipping from wind in the winter. Hold off on heavy pruning until April of next year.

• Winter houseplant care: reduce or eliminate fertilizer until spring, shorter days mean slower growth, slower growth means less frequent watering. Plants in plastic pots need less water than those in clay pots. Plants in cooler rooms need less water and will have slower growth than those in warm rooms. Creating additional humidity is always beneficial. An easy way to increase humidity is to use trays filled with water and large pebbles. Place the plants on the pebbles so they will not sit in the water, but they can get the benefit of a higher humidity level as the water evaporates.

 

            Enjoy your yard and garden in every season!

 

Time to go……….See you in the Garden…………..

Sandi Hillermann McDonald

Garden Solutions - December 2015

The month of December brings the holiday season and warm thoughts of family, friends and community. I would like to say “Thank You” and wish you and yours a “Blessed Holiday Season” with all the best in the New Year!

Fall will turn into winter this month. It may not always be the most comfortable time to be planting anything in your landscape, but it is a great time for the plants. Trees and shrubs are completely dormant now, so the concept of transplant shock does not apply. 

Trimming or pruning of some of your trees and shrubs can be done now. Basically, it breaks down like this, if the tree or shrub flowers before the 1^st of June don’t touch it now. If it flowers after the 1^st of June, you can safely cut it now. Resist the urge to cut back everything. Most perennials benefit from adding a layer of mulch or dead leaves. If you had any fungus or disease problems in an area, go ahead and cut back the plants in that area and rake up the debris. Keep your ornamental grasses up until mid-March.

Roses: a winter “hair-cut” can be given, but don’t cut them back all the way. Some winters can be so cold that the roses could get winter die-back which would need to be removed in the spring anyway, so plan on your heaviest rose trimming in spring in early April. Apply a thick layer (10-12”) of mulch at the base of your roses now.

Plants get “chapped lips” too. Cold, dry winter winds and bright winter sun make our skin chapped and unhealthy. Those winds have a devastatingly similar effect on your plants, which are out in the winds all winter. No wonder your evergreens don’t look so great come spring. This drying effect is called desiccation. To fight desiccation, choose the right plants for windy, dry areas. Make sure to water your evergreens well through early December, before the ground freezes. Mulch your plants for winter to retain soil moisture as well as soil temperature. Use an anti-desiccant like Wilt Stop by Bonide. These products coat leaves and needles to slow down the loss of moisture.

Here are a few tips on winter houseplant care. When the heat goes on and the daylight becomes shorter, it may be necessary to move the plants to a different place in the home and to give them different treatment from that given during the summer. Flowering plants need at least half a day of direct sunlight. Cacti and many succulents require a sunny location, and crotons need direct sun to maintain the decorative color. The ideal temperatures for foliage plants are 68-70 degrees during the day and slightly lower at night. Remember, windowsill locations are much colder during the winter and plants may need to be moved to prevent them from getting chilled. The amount of water the houseplants need declines during winter, so increase the amount of time between watering. Reduce fertilizing as well.

Some of the plants in your landscape can help you decorate for the Christmas season as you prune them for next year. Holly and Boxwood can be trimmed now with some of the cuttings used to accent wreaths or live indoor plants. Additionally, some of the growth of evergreens such as White Pine, Norway Spruce, even some of the seed heads of ornamental grasses can be used to make a harvest wreath or basket for your front door or porch. Talk about recycling! After Christmas, you can take them to your compost bin for future fertilizer! Along with these Holiday tips, here are a few other ideas for the month:

·                     Use caution when spreading salt or calcium on ice or snow packed walks or driveways. Salt can damage lawns and plantings, calcium is much safer to use. Be sure to designate areas to for piling snow from plowing in advance to prevent damage to trees, shrubs and lawns.

·                     Continue to feed our fine feathered friends and place heated birdbaths with fresh water out for them.

Again, I wish you and your family a very Blessed Christmas season. Let’s get to work on planning that beautiful garden scene for next year!

 

See you in the Garden…………..

Sandi Hillermann Mcdonald

 

 

Garden Solutions - January 2015

JANUARY IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!  SO ENJOY THEM!!!

            It is hard to say who benefits more from backyard bird feeders - the birds or the people who feed them. Some of life’s more enjoyable moments include the songs and antics of the birds outside our windows. Watching them is so captivating that it can alter an entire day’s plans, turning a twenty-minute breakfast into a three-hour brunch. Activity at your feeders probably can hold your attention all day with its ever-changing pattern of form and color, from fluffed-up chickadees to sleek cardinals.

            Often the brightest spot on the winter landscape, with the most activity, is the bird feeder in the backyard. No matter what size yard or garden you have, you can create your own bird haven. All you need are food, water, and shelter. Shrubs and evergreens are good, not only to offer cover during harsh northern winters, but also to protect birds from their natural enemies. They also provide safe nesting sites in the spring.

            Whether you are just beginning or greatly expanding your bird-feeding program, give careful consideration to making it easy and fun for the whole family. If the feeders are hard to reach, the bags too heavy for the kids to maneuver, or the birdbath too far from the hose, pretty soon someone will lose patience and object to being involved.

            Hang different types of feeders at different heights and near enough to your house so you can watch the birds at relatively close range. You can use empty coffee cans and homemade funnels (cut the bottom off a large soft drink bottle) for feeder-filling convenience. Don’t be discouraged if you have just put up a new feeder and the birds don’t flock to it immediately. Because birds recognize food by sight, it can take a while for them to locate a new source. Try putting aluminum foil on the ground underneath the feeder to reflect the sunlight. If you already have other feeders, put the new one nearby until the birds discover it. Bird feeding activity attracts other species, so when you add a specialty feeder (such as a thistle feeder for finches) to your feeding station, it probably will not take long for new birds to find it.

            Open water in freezing weather will attract as many, or more, birds as a well-stocked feeder! Birds use it to help keep them warmer in winter! By cleaning their feathers and then grooming them with natural oils, our feathered friends are able to help insulate their bodies from cold. You can keep the water thawed with a submersible heater placed directly in the water; it is economical and safe as long as you use a high quality, outdoor extension cord to plug the heater into an electrical source. As a firm believer in providing water year round, there are many options on the market to suit the need.

            Remember that, for the sake of the bird’s health, it is always important to keep the feeders and the ground beneath them cleaned up of old seed that can harbor disease. So fill your feeders and enjoy the show!

            Once you have your feeders set up and can enjoy the show, begin planning your spring gardens. Garden seeds of all types are available and you will soon be able to start seeds inside to get a jump on the season. There is nothing better than seeing things grow! Start your planting and planning your passion today.

 

See you in the garden…

Sandi Hillermann McDonald