Indholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2017 i Birds & Blooms

THE WONDER OF WINGS If you put a butterfly wing under a microscope, you’ll see that it is actually covered in many tiny scales, which give the butterfly its colors and patterns. Underneath the scales are thin layers of protein called chitin, which is also found in octopus beaks, insect exoskeletons, fish scales and more.…

When we moved to Orlando, Florida, we had a new home but no garden. I love taking photos of hummingbirds, and back in Texas I attracted them to my backyard flower gardens to enjoy their beauty. I worked hard to design and plant three new hummingbird gardens. After months of tough yard work, it all paid off when my landscape became a magnet for hummingbirds, like this ruby-throat. Gilberto Sanchez ORLANDO, FLORIDA I’m very lucky that I live in Prairie City, Iowa, the home of the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Their mission is to restore the native tallgrass prairie environment that once covered our state. The wonderful work they do there attracts a variety of birds, like this indigo bunting I photographed one morning. Elk, bison and many other…

It begins with a whirl of wings in the heat of the summer sun. As a female monarch sips nectar from a wildflower, a male hovers nearby. A pheromone is released from tiny black scent glands on his lower wings in hopes that she will accept his advances. He lingers until she perches on a leaf, a clear invitation. The two butterflies join together at the tips of their abdomens and stay that way for several hours until he is certain that no other male monarch will take his place. Several days later, the female is ready to lay eggs. Milkweed leaves are the only things her future offspring will eat. She flits from leaf to leaf and uses special glands on her feet to “taste” each plant until she…

Did You Know? • CULINARY LAVENDER, unlike ornamental lavender, is used to add flavor in baking and cooking. • THE BIG WHITE SPOTS on lupine flowers help insects find the nectar. ANSWERS 1. FUCHSIA 2. LILAC 3. SWEET PEA 4. JAPANESE IRIS 5. WATER LILY…

SO MUCH TO LOVE With 18-inch to 6-foot spires covered with bright, bell-shaped blooms, foxglove (Digitalis) is a classic cottage garden plant. It’s a self-seeding biennial or short-lived perennial. Plant two years in a row and allow seeds to drop to the ground for blooms every year. TO-DO LIST August Attract more butterflies with nectar blooms, such as foxglove, and an established watering area. Add large rocks to the edges of a small pond or birdbath. The shallow water allows bees and butterflies to safely perch and drink the water. Gather the whole family for a bird walk, garden tour or other outdoor activity to celebrate American Family Day on Aug. Be on the lookout for migrating raptors! Visit hmana.org to find an official hawk watch site near you.…

SQUIRREL DETERRENT Crown imperial’s foliage has a strong fragrance, which pleases some gardeners, but many dislike it. The good news? The scent keeps squirrels away. 1 Crown imperial FRITILLARIA IMPERIALIS, ZONES 5 TO Roll out the red carpet for this exotic-looking royal grower. A crown of lance-shaped foliage and orange, red or yellow bell-shaped flowers sit atop each sturdy stalk in late spring. Mark your calendar as a reminder to plant bulbs in fall so you don’t miss the show. Why we love it: It’s an excellent focal point in a spring garden. Plant it in well-drained soil, full sun or part shade, and in groupings for full effect. 2 Blue shrimp plant CERINTHE MAJOR ‘PURPURASCENS’, ANNUAL This easy-to-grow plant may look like it’s from out of this world, but…

Growing veggies is economical, and I like to eat heirloom varieties that I can’t find at the grocery store. My parents and grandparents had a garden each year, and now I’m teaching my daughter. It’s a family tradition. Lori Vanover WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN So I can be sure the veggies were grown organically, with no chemicals! Kat Rucci ORLANDO, FLORIDA Absolutely nothing beats a homegrown tomato for my ’mater sandwiches! Rita Jones SIMPSONVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA It’s all about the earth. To feel connected, to nurture something and watch it grow. Lori Rewick Simon ARLINGTON, VERMONT It’s therapeutic for me to be outdoors, and to share. I give 99 percent of my produce to my neighbors. Karen Kader OMAHA, NEBRASKA There are many reasons I grow veggies. It’s partly to have fresh,…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. In the June/July issue, we hid it on page 70. If you find it, enter at birdsandblooms.com/contests. We’ll draw winners to receive Birds & Blooms seeds. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINES No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on June 30, 2017, and ends on September 6, 2017. Find official rules at birdsandblooms.com/contests. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC Contact Us! CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.com Visit: birdsandblooms.com/customercare Write: BIRDS &…

SHINY & BRIGHT When the sun hits it just right, a male ruby-throated hummingbird’s gorget, or throat, is a beautiful irridescent red. His vibrant green head glows, too! everal hummingbird species are sprinkled over the western half of North America, but only one, the ruby-throat, flies the eastern skies regularly. As the region’s tiniest bird, ruby-throated hummingbirds generate a lot of buzz and excitement when they choose your backyard. S Males steal the show with green bodies and ruby red throats that glisten like jewels in the sunlight. Females aren’t as grandiose in appearance. They sport green backs, white underparts and black masks near their eyes. All juveniles look so similar to females that it’s often nearly impossible to tell which it is. Whether a male, female or youngster chooses…

Deadheading may sound strange, but it’s actually a super easy technique that has a big effect on the health and appearance of your garden. When a plant flowers and sets seed, it stops producing fresh blossoms. Simply put, deadheading is the practice of removing faded or dead flowers before they go to seed, so that new ones are encouraged to grow. Horticulturist Jessica Walliser says that it’s an essential summer chore if you want to keep your garden looking its best, but it is good practice any time you have fading blooms in your containers and garden beds. Both annuals and perennials benefit from regular trimming back. Flowering annuals, like zinnias, cosmos and petunias, respond by pumping out fresh blooms from spring through autumn. This technique also prolongs the flowering…

Q I’ve removed a praying mantis from my hummingbird feeder several times and even trimmed the plants away from the feeder, but the insect keeps coming back. What can I do to keep it away? Terry Hathcock MILLINGTON, TENNESSEE Kenn and Kimberly: A large mantis is fully capable of catching and eating hummingbirds, so this is a serious issue. Once an individual mantis develops a fixation on your feeder, it may come back repeatedly to try to nab a hummingbird. You could catch the mantis and take it away—for example, drive to some natural habitat a few miles away and release it there. If that seems like too much effort and you don’t want to use lethal methods, it’s best to take the feeder down for a few days and…

17 When author E.B. White recorded the audio book for Charlotte’s Web, it took him 17 takes to get through the titular spider’s death scene without crying. 26 Before it transforms into a beautiful butterfly, Eric Carle’s very hungry caterpillar eats its way through 26 items of food, including a pickle, a cupcake and four strawberries. 8 Aragog is the spider that lives in the Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter series. He is described as having eight milky white eyes and being the size of a small elephant. 1910 Bumblebees invade a wood mouse’s neat little house in the 1910 story The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, written and illustrated by the naturalist Beatrix Potter. 3 The hookah-smoking caterpillar in the Lewis Carroll book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland stands exactly 3 inches…