Counting Birds in the Garden

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I could not have guessed how timely this post would turn out to be.  I thought, I’ll get a head start promoting the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).  After all we want to see more birds in the garden.  But who would have guessed that while I was gazing out my window this past gray… [Continue Reading]

Falling for Favorite Natives-Part 1

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   Happy Winter Solstice!! This is the third post in this series on native plants that any gardener can grow and love.  First I focused on reliable, hardworking native perennials, and followed that up with native plant alternatives to invasive plants commonly used in gardens.  This time I am spotlighting fall natives. With today being the… [Continue Reading]

Anna’s Hummingbirds, The Hummingbirds of Winter

Manzanita, (Arctostaphylos_pungens) Photo Courtesy of Las Pilitas Nursery

    “Why not stay on with us and be jolly?”  Ratty, Wind in the Willows   Ah, the late afternoon sun in the native garden, how it warms my face.  I wait for my friends, the hummingbirds.  I hear them clicking in the trees and know that they will be here soon.  Yellow leaves… [Continue Reading]

Beautiful Wildlife Gardens of Indianapolis

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…or “What I did on my summer vacation.” Sometimes you have to leave your garden and venture out into the world to seek garden inspiration. Around the end of August, I traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, (also Zone 5) for the Garden Writers Symposium, which included garden tours. As I began to review my photos, I… [Continue Reading]

Getting Ready for Spring

Even though your bird houses may look like this photo, it’s time to get ready for spring! I stood in my garden this week enjoying the first sunny day we’ve had for some time. It was so nice to feel its warmth on my face after so many weeks of below freezing temperatures. I am… [Continue Reading]

Ooops, I let My Birdbath Freeze

Birds and other wildlife need access to water year-round, but especially in winter as streams, ponds, lakes, and even bird baths freeze. Somehow my time got away from me this year and I forgot my winter water set up, until I noticed the bird’s tracks in the snow all over the bird bath. I feel… [Continue Reading]

Winter Birds in the Wildlife Garden

Birds are especially visible in our wildlife gardens in winter, and they are not as fragile as we may think. Access to food, water, and shelter will help them get through the cold winter days. Water is one of the most important elements to provide for birds in the wildlife garden in winter. While birds… [Continue Reading]

Bird Migration and Your Wildlife Garden

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We’ve talked about Purple Martins and migration, but at this time of year many birds are migrating to their wintering homes. Warblers, Orioles, Tanagers, Vireos, Swallows, raptors, ducks and geese, Thrushes, Sparrows, and more are all on the move, and may be passing through your wildlife garden. And what they need most of all is… [Continue Reading]

Birds of a Feather

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The other day I was walking around the gardens, and found a wonderful gift – a feather had fallen from the tail of one of the hawks that nest just outside the end of our property.  You can see it’s beauty and striking colors in the tip.  The feather itself is about 9 inches long,… [Continue Reading]

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