Changing in a changing climate with Charlotte at Bluebird Gardens
Charlotte’s Missouri Spring Gardening Tips
Whether you're putting out new seedlings or need to protect a young plant, recycled plastic milk containers make handy guards. Cut off the bottom; take off lid. Place container over the plant you want to protect. As temperatures get warmer, check container to make sure the protected plant is getting enough air. Great way to give seedlings a head start before your last frost date!
Some friends tell me birds will eat eastern tent caterpillars if the web has an opening. Although I have a very active bird population in my midwest wildlife garden, I have yet to see any birds eat tent caterpillars. As soon as I spot the tents, I manually remove the tents with a stick. After making a hole in the middle of the web, I scrape the web off the tree, then check it again over the next few days. If I can keep the caterpillars from rebuilding the tents, they usually disappear. I still find the caterpillars in the garden, and sometimes on my roses; I just prefer not to "decorate" my yard for Halloween in spring!
One of the signs of spring in the Midwest are eastern tent caterpillars. The first sign they're in your garden is a small white web in tree limb junctions. They're particularly fond of apples, cherries and roses. As caterpillars grow, so does the web, sometimes expanding to several tree junctions. Infested trees will look like something out of a Halloween scene for several weeks as caterpillars grow and feed. These caterpillars turn into red moths. Although they can defoliate trees and rosebushes, I've found mine grow back with little damage.
I was delightfully-surprised to find how easy it is to use cracked egg shells to start seeds. My biggest challenge was to remember to save them instead of adding them to the compost. After marking empty egg containers on the outside, I started to save broken shells inside egg containers and storing them on one of my garage shelves.
I wasn't sure how well they would work with delicate seedlings so I started with tomatoes. After watering and keeping them warm, tomato plants sprouted easily, including growing through the shells when tomato plants became too big for the shell. To plant, I dug a small hole and put plant and shell in, then covered.
If there's a flower that heralds spring to me, it's yellow daffodils.If there's a flower that heralds spring to me, it's yellow daffodils.
If you do as much gardening as I do, having the right tools is important and that includes the right-size trowel. Trowels are a gardener's basic tool; basically a small shovel with a good handle for leverage. Although I'm not a big gadget person, I find child-size garden implements such as trowels fit my hands better than regular, adult-size tools. I have both; I use the larger trowel for soil preparation, and the smaller one for actual planting and soil amending. Getting a recycled plastic trowel is also rust-less for all those times when I leave the trowel somewhere in the garden!
Eastern Bluebirds are small thrushes with bright blue feathers, and an orange and white belly. Both male and females have the same coloring; the female looks faded.
Remember hearing Purple Martins eat a ton of mosquitos every day so every garden needs a Purple Martin house?
Not so, according to the Purple Martin Conservation Association. The whole story about Purple Martins being natural mosquito predators was promoted by Purple Martin house manufacturers. The campaign worked so well Purple Martins today are the only bird species to depend exclusively on manmade houses. They eat insects but few to no mosquitos. If they eat anything interesting, these birds feed young insects and small rocks and glass pieces to help them digest.
Don't we all have a box of old coat hooks we've saved, just in case?
Often well-used birdhouses loose their perches and here's a great idea to make use of those old coat hooks! Laura took an old coat rack hook and added it to a bluebird house. Bluebirds don't need perches; Laura said her house is used regardless but it sure adds a little extra charm to the neighborhood, don't you think?
Coat hooks would also come in handy to quickly renovate other birdhouses where perches are used...
Daffodils and tulips sometimes seem to be the stars of spring but don't overlook the shy but aromatic hyacinth. Not only is hyacinth easy to grow, but one flower is enough to charm anyone as it unfolds; the scent will fill a room for several days.
Hyacinths come in several colors including pink, burgundy, white, yellow, purple and, my personal favorite, blue. Unfortunately you can't plant these in spring; these are bulbs to be planted in fall so look around the garden and make a note where you want to plant some later. They make great border plants so you can easily enjoy the scent.
Bulbs at first may seem expensive but cut each bulb in 4 pieces; each piece will grow a new plant. Keep watered, out of direct sunlight and watch the bulb grow its lovely thick flower stem with many flowers any time of the year.
Hyacinths also make good cut flowers!
Daffodils and tulips sometimes seem to be the stars of spring but don't overlook the shy but aromatic hyacinth. Not only is hyacinth easy to grow, but one flower is enough to charm anyone as it unfolds; the scent will fill a room for several days.
Hyacinths come in several colors including pink, burgundy, white, yellow, purple and, my personal favorite, blue. Unfortunately you can't plant these in spring; these are bulbs to be planted in fall so look around the garden and make a note where you want to plant some later. They make great border plants so you can easily enjoy the scent.
Bulbs at first may seem expensive but cut each bulb in 4 pieces; each piece will grow a new plant. Keep watered, out of direct sunlight and watch the bulb grow its lovely thick flower stem with many flowers any time of the year.
Hyacinths also make good cut flowers!
Eastern Bluebirds are lovely birds; I watched two of them earlier this winter eating smooth sumac seed pods off my back porch, their blue feathers bright against white snow. A little larger than a sparrow, Eastern Bluebirds live off garden insects and help keep insect populations in check. Early March is the time in Missouri to get Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes in place so these lovely birds can settle in for one of their three yearly nestings. Eastern Bluebirds were on the decline until a concerted effort by amateur bird enthusiasts put up nesting boxes and watched over them. The are the state bird for many states, including Missouri.
There's a bit of controversy over what is the best bluebird house to use.
In general, cedar homes with at least 7/8 inch walls and at least 4x4 inch floors seem to be the eastern bluebird's favorite nesting spots. Bigger the better.
I'm putting up Gilbertson PVC nest boxes along Bluebird Lane this year.
To make Eastern Bluebirds most comfortable, install boxes at least 5 feet high facing away from the sun and prevailing winds, open to the surrounding area for easy fly-in access. Some people prefer to mount nesting boxes on pipes in the ground; my eastern bluebirds have comfortably used nesting boxes on trees. Monitor to make sure sparrows and other birds don't move in. There are a number of bluebird house kits you can make; get plans or buy from someone who makes them like KNWoodworks. These lovely birds love mealy worms so if you want to see them closer, stock up on a supply and provide them in a bird feeding station close to a window.
That's one thing bird-watching definitely teaches, it pays to be patient!
What luck have you had putting up bluebird nest boxes? Do you enjoy bird-watching and have some tips to share?
Make a note: plant more spring crocus bulbs this fall, especially around where you regularly walk. I remind myself every time I spot my first blooming spring crocus. These 2-3 inch perennial bulbs look best grouped together half an inch apart, forming a little ground bouquet when they're in bloom. Crocus are available in purple, white and yellow, both standard size and extra large. If you have to pick one, select the extra large. It may make it easier to spot them from a window under snow cover!
Make a note: plant more spring crocus bulbs this fall, especially around where you regularly walk. I remind myself every time I spot my first blooming spring crocus. These 2-3 inch perennial bulbs look best grouped together half an inch apart, forming a little ground bouquet when they're in bloom. Crocus are available in purple, white and yellow, both standard size and extra large. If you have to pick one, select the extra large. It may make it easier to spot them from a window under snow cover!
USDA Zone 6b
Limestone Hillside
