Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Tuesday January 5, 2010

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Tuesday January 5, 2010

Having trouble seeing this email? View the most recent issue or stories from previous issues.

	Today's Wine & Dine Daily Video
	How To Make Blueberry Almond French ... Play Now!

Get Healthy in 2010

Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Tuesday January 5, 2010

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida)
Q&A: Plants That Attract Birds
Q&A: Choosing a Shade Tree
Tip: Order Seeds Now
Free Parenting Humor from the New Yorker
Reader Photos

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida)

Today's Featured Plant
Petunia (Petunia x hybrida)

Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com.

Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Q&A: Plants That Attract Birds

Question: What kinds of flowers and shrubs attract birds? I understand they eat lots of pest insects.

Answer: There are many plants that attract birds. Delphinium, monkshood, bee balm, morning glories, roses, sunflowers, and lilacs are some flowers that birds like. Berry bushes such as cranberry bush viburnum, nannyberry, honeysuckle, mountain ash, barberries, cotoneaster, hawthorne, snowberries, and dogwood offer fruit, some of them into the winter. Evergreen shrubs offer protection and nesting sites. The key is to provide a variety of conditions: some open lawn, some low-growing cover, some larger shrubs and trees, and some food sources. Birds are also attracted to water, such as bird baths.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Q&A: Choosing a Shade Tree

Question: I am looking for a large shade tree for the middle of my front yard. Can you recommend one that doesn't have a lot of surface roots? I am from the east coast originally, and like maples and oaks. I am also considering a sweet gum.

Answer: I wish I could recommend large shade trees that wouldn't eventually produce large surface roots, but the large roots near the trunk of older trees often rise above the soil level. This is the result of them growing in diameter over time. A small root, say "pencil-sized," growing a couple of inches beneath the surface goes unnoticed for years, but as that root expands in diameter it naturally pushes part of itself above the surface. Sometimes erosion from rainwater runoff contributes to root exposure. This does not hurt the tree, but can pose a problem when the area is covered with turf and needs to be mowed.

You can add a couple of inches of soil once or twice a year, spreading it evenly over the area when roots begin to surface. This will fix the problem enough so that you can easily mow over the area without damaging roots or the mower.

As for shade tree recommendations, maple, oak, fruitless mulberry, avocado or Catalpa are great choices for your growing region. Local nurseries offer varieties of species that are best suited to your area.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Tip: Order Seeds Now

It's best to order seeds early. Some new varieties of vegetable and flower seed may be in short supply their first year available. Orders are filled on a first-come, first serve basis so ordering early helps avoid substitutions.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Free Parenting Humor from the New Yorker

With the new school year starting, parents can use a good laugh to start the day. The New Yorker Parenting Cartoons ezine has just what you need!

Subscribers to this free ezine will receive a New Yorker cartoon every morning by e-mail -- a service available only from ArcaMax! New subscribers will also receive a New Yorker-style cartoon with their name in the caption, perfect for sharing with family and friends!

For more cartoons every morning, sign up for the Dogs and Cats, Food Humor, Love & Relationships, and Office Humor ezines.

Subscribe to New Yorker Parenting Humor.

-- From the ArcaMax editors

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Today's Reader Submitted Photos

Click an image above to see full size and read caption.

To see more of our subscriber photos visit our full Photo Gallery.

Enter your Gardening Daily Tips pictures so you can show them off to other readers right here in this ezine and on the ArcaMax.com Web site. Click here to submit your photo.

Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors