Innehållsförteckning för August/September 2015 från Birds & Blooms

Now is the time of year when the summer heat starts to take its toll. Drought is setting in for several parts of the country, the grass is turning yellow and temperatures are soaring. Birds seem to be less active at your feeders, and even some of your favorite garden plants are drooping. Here’s my best advice—don’t let it get to you. For many of us, summer is the season we live for. It’s the time of farmers markets, gorgeous flowers and bustling bird families. It’s easy to want to hunker down, especially when that heat index keeps climbing, but don’t give up on your backyard—your second chance summer is here. Summer is going to be gone before you know it, so maximize the time you have left. Take a…

TOP 10 1 CARADONNA SALVIA 2 WILLOW AMSONIA 3 PEONY 4 SWITCHGRASS 5 GARDEN PHLOX 6 DARK TOWERS BEARDTONGUE 7 SNOWBANK FALSE ASTER 8 ZAGREB COREOPSIS 9 HARDY HIBISCUS 10 BLAZING STAR Never underestimate the value of great border plants. They can dress up a bare fence, create a colorful screen and add a bit of needed color next to your house or shed. For the best results, use a mix of plants. Add options that provide color from spring through fall, and that range in height. In addition, include plants with fine foliage and flowers to contrast with the bold leaves and blooms of neighboring plants. It’s time to conquer those edges! Caradonna salvia SALVIA NEMOROSA ‘CARADONNA,’ ZONES 3 TO 9 The fragrant green foliage is topped with spikes…

55 A typical-sized rain barrel can hold up to 55 gallons of water. 3 Only 3 percent of Earth’s water is freshwater and it’s found in glaciers, underground, and in rivers and lakes. 50 Mulching lessens the need to irrigate your landscape by up to 50 percent, because it helps soil retain moisture. 80 The average person uses over 80 gallons of water a day. 1,300 Over the course of a summer, a rain barrel can save approximately 1,300 gallons of rainwater, depending on climate, barrel size and placement. 6 Instead of lightly watering every day, give your plants a weekly soaking to conserve more moisture. A depth of 6 inches is a good benchmark. 2 The two best times of day to do your watering are in the morning…

Bring in the Birds Here are some species you may attract by planting sunflowers. • Cardinals • Chickadees • House finches • Titmice • Grosbeaks • Nuthatches • Goldfinches • Red-bellied woodpeckers • Pine siskins Pick the Right Variety You can find many sunflower options on the market today, but not all of them are suitable food sources for birds. When selecting sunflowers, make sure they produce a good supply of seeds. Some of our top picks include Mammoth Grey Stripe, Paul Bunyan and Aztec Gold. Growing Tips Sunflowers are truly one of the easiest plants to grow, but they do have a few requirements. They need at least six hours of sunlight per day and well-drained soil. They benefit from organic matter, and also keep the area under sunflowers…

Summer Container Tip Freshening up your garden might mean adding a couple of fresh pots. Placing a new container next to old ones can mask the unsightly parts of spring containers. Plus, starting a few additional pots will give your green thumb an extra workout. If you glance out the window and your container garden looks a little lackluster, you’re not alone. Birds & Blooms garden expert, Melinda Myers, says this is quite common. “By midseason, some plants fade and get crowded out by more vigorous plants. The bigger ones take off and take over,” Melinda says. Part of this is due to the instinct to pack as many plants as possible into one container when planting in spring. Of course, doing so provides instant gratification, but you’re not taking…

It’s time for our annual Backyard Photo Contest! If you have a breathtaking photo that fits one of our three categories— birds, butterflies and flowers—we want to see it! You’ve got until Sept. 15 to submit your photographs. Twelve category finalists will receive $50 each, and the Grand Prize winner gets $1,000! For ofcial rules and entry information, visit us online at birdsandblooms.com/contests.…

DID YOU KNOW? Acorn woodpeckers live in small colonies of 10-15 birds. They share nesting, food and more hidey-hole One day, my wife and I were out on a hike and we noticed an acorn woodpecker collecting nuts and depositing them into an old tree branch. I took multiple snapshots, but some were out of focus, because I forgot to bring my tripod along. This one turned out the best, though, and caught the woodpecker with an acorn in his mouth. All the different colors really make the photograph. David Scholl SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH DID YOU KNOW? If you see a shorebird, look at its legs. The color can help you identify it. splash down I was walking along the beach and saw this willet hunting for food. I…

Feed Birds with Great Products we have a new editors’ choice award, and the first products to receive it are from cole’s wild bird, a company known for producing topnotch goods for backyard birds. editors have tested these products in their own backyards and selected a few of their favorites. The Cole’s Hummer High Rise Feeder earns an editors’ choice award for its great design. buy it for $17. Cole’s Terrific Tube Feeder and Blue Ribbon seed mix are both editors’ choice picks. buy the feeder for $32 and seed for $15. LEARN MORE about our special offer to purchase products at birdsandblooms.com/coles.…

1 Modeled after traditional Japanese lanterns, this lantern holds a small candle and is perfect for summer nights, $59.95, allmodern.com 2 Get this handcrafted, creative feeder from Etsy artist, Joe Papendick, $78, etsy.com/shop/joepapendick 3 Offer fruit, like oranges and apples, with this stylish feeder, $19.95, duncraft.com 4 Create a unique window box with this industrial wall planter, $29, westelm.com 5 Try air plants or succulents in this circle pot, available in white, orange, green and blue, $95, pottedstore.com 6 This modern faux wood grain birdhouse comes in black, blue or green. $34, etsy.com/shop/hublerfurniture have you seen a great product you think we should know about? Send us a note through our Submission Guidelines on page 64.…

BACKYARD TIP Female and young male rubythroats look similar, so you might have more visitors than you think. Q&A I use about a gallon of sugar water a day. Is it possible to determine how many hummingbirds I feed by the amount of sugar water they drink in a day? Marge Kaufman SIGEL, ILLINOIS Kenn and Kimberly: According to lab studies, the amount of sugar water consumed by a hummingbird will vary depending on the richness of the sugar concentration. With the typical 4:1 ratio of water to sugar, a ruby-throat probably won’t drink more than about 2 fluid ounces per day. A gallon of sugar water could feed about 60 hummingbirds in a day! The actual number of individuals could be even higher if some are just stopping briefly,…

DID YOU KNOW? Greehouses allow you to garden longer, and even harvest crops like herbs and lettuce in the winter. FACEBOOK POLL If money were no issue, which of these luxury items would you have in your backyard? Greenhouse 30% Pond 21% Gazebo 19% Fountain 17% Outdoor kitchen 13% GO ONLINE Check us out on Facebook to participate in other polls like this. Visit facebook.com/birdsblooms. DO YOU HAVE A CLEVER CAPTION FOR THIS PHOTO? Go to birdsand blooms.com/youdontsay. We’ll publish some of our favorites in the next issue. “you don’t say!” Meet and Greet Donice Palmer of Goshen, Ohio captured this odd encounter between a great horned owl and a cow on her parents’ farm. “It was a hot summer day, and the owl was resting near the creek to…

Pretty in Pink Pink flowers should be no problem to ID, right? We threw in a couple of easy ones, but the others you might have to work for. Here’s a hint, though—a few of these are actually spring bloomers! Go to page 64 to see how many of these reader photos you correctly identified. Share your photos with us! Go to birdsandblooms.com/photo-galleries to submit your best ones. They might even be featured on our website!…

Submission Guidelines We love hearing from readers—in fact, we couldn’t publish this magazine without you! To make sharing your photos and stories even eaiser, we’ve created an online submission form at birdsandblooms.com/submit-your-story. Each reader whose story, photo or short item is published will receive a Birds & Blooms lip balm made by Wisconsin bees! Because of the volume of submissions, our small staff can’t acknowledge receipt of submissions, but we’ll always let you know if they’re published. By submitting material to us, you grant RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC, its affiliates, partners and licensees worldwide use of the material without time limitation, and the right to include your name and city/state in connection with any such use. We may modify, reproduce and distribute your material in any medium and in any…