Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Backyard cuttings: Try bouquets that make a statement

By Times Staff, Wires
Published February 9, 2008

Here's your Saturday morning flower-arranging tutorial, from www.aboutflowers.com: Try a bouquet with just two bold colors, like the orange and yellow shown here. In flowers, green is neutral and white is a color.

Conduct a bird census in your yard

Count the birds while you're out in the garden Friday through Feb. 18. It's the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, led by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. Record the kind and number of birds you see during at least 15 minutes on one of the count days, then submit your count online. Find details, checklists and identification tips at www.birdcount.org. For a list of what counters saw last year in your area, go to www.birdsource.org/gbbc/press. Will you see a blue-headed vireo or a ruby-crowned kinglet, as counters around Tampa Bay did last year?

Grow everything but the pepperoni

Here's a fun idea to get the kids interested in gardening: a pizza garden. Plant tomatoes, green peppers, basil, oregano, garlic and chives in a round pizza shape. Or you can divide the "pizza" into slices, using small stones (are those pepperoni slices?) or one of the herbs as dividers. Plant one tomato and one pepper plant per "slice" and fill in the rest with herbs.

Your tired hanging baskets need a lift

Plant something new in your hanging baskets this spring. Try narrow-leaved bromeliads; novelty ferns such as rabbit foot, which looks like a furry foot; spider plants, strawberry begonias or strawberries. Petunias, vinca and begonias do well too.

Valentine posies require love too

Do you have questions about how to choose and care for Valentine cut flowers? Ask the flower doctor. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Brigid Behe, Ph.D.,and her assistants will respond to your e-mails at flowrmd.com and will take your calls toll-free at 1-888-356-9763, hosted by the Flower Promotion Organization.

Stinky trick gets rid of garden pests

Here's a natural way to counteract garden pests: Mix a few tablespoons of a strong-smelling ingredient, such as cayenne, garlic or horseradish, with a quart of water. Spray it on infested plants. Attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings and ground beetles by planting border flowers that provide shelter and nectar, says 365 Ways to Live Green by Diane Gow McDilda (Adams Media, $7.95).

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 15:41:23]