Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Birds and Blooms Extra

My grandparents have a gigantic Christmas cactus—it’s large enough to flop over the end table it sits on in their sunny living room. It’s been there for as long as I can remember, and my dad recalls seeing the plant in his grandparents’ house, too, before it was passed down. The succulent has been in the background of our holiday celebrations for decades and serves as a cheerful reminder of greener seasons and family roots that run deep. The Christmas cactus is a classic for a reason: It offers color all year round and is easy to maintain once you fall into the right care routine. Turn to “Nurturing Holiday Cheer” on page 16 to learn what the plant needs to thrive or, if you’ve mastered that part, how to…

“I spotted this young verdin on an early morning walk. I was happy it stayed around long enough for me to get a few pictures and to enjoy its beauty.”Caroline Horowitz CHANDLER, ARIZONA HELPING OUT Male verdins stay involved and play a critical role in nest construction. The males mostly set up the thorny outer structures. Females handle the interior decorating, adding a soft lining that’s usually a combo of grass and plant fibers. LISTEN UP The male verdin’s song is a simple tseet tsor tsor whistle. Males and females both give a loud chip call, sometimes in a rapid progression.…

Mountain Ash Sorbus species, Zones 2 to 7 Mountain ash is a wildlife magnet. The fruit attracts cedar waxwings, robins, gray catbirds, thrashers, eastern bluebirds and at least a dozen other bird species. Plus, it is a host plant for eastern tiger swallowtails. Proper care leads to fewer pests and diseases. Attracts: Light needs: Full sun or partial shade. Size: 10 to 25 feet tall. Grown for: Multiseason appeal. Foliage: Dark green leaves change to yellow, orange and red hues in autumn. Benefits: The perfect size for use as a small shade tree or specimen plant, it fits into most yards. Its oval shape is attractive. WILDLIFE BENEFITS This medium-size ornamental tree appeals to many favorite fliers, especially bees and butterflies. Watch for them on the white blooms in spring.…

1 Gooseneck loosestrife LYSIMACHIA CLETHROIDES, ZONES 3 TO 9 A perennial that relishes full sun and moist soil, gooseneck loosestrife grows 1 to 3 feet in both height and width. Each 4- to 8-inch flower spike curves downward like a goose’s neck, hence the name. The plant’s floral display wows from late spring through summer, then the foliage takes on seasonal yellow hues. Why we love it: Pollinators, especially butterflies, adore it, and it provides long-lasting cut flowers. 2 Illuminati Arch mock orange PHILADELPHUS CORONARIUS, ZONES 4 TO 7 Truly a modern shrub, Illuminati Arch is much smaller than classic mock oranges, growing only about 4 feet tall, but it still has all the appeal. Its white blooms show up in late spring and offer fragrance through early…

GrowLab compact tabletop light garden with classroom guide Whether you’re a newbie gardener or a parent in search of a kid-friendly project, follow this guide to bring the tabletop garden to life. $179 at gardeners.com Lavender windowsill planter Breathe deep while enjoying the scent and satisfaction of growing lavender at home. $30 at backtotheroots.com Be the Bee pollinator A battery-operated toothbrush could be helpful for pollinating tomatoes and other plants, but it’ll never be quite as cute as this pollinating tool. $15 at aerogarden.com Deb Wiley keeps her green thumb going inside her Des Moines, Iowa, home with orchids, African violets and a host of other plants she hopes to move outside again in spring.…

I captured this image in the heat of summer at a local nature center in southwest Michigan. I love photographing butterflies from different perspectives, especially from beneath when I can see their faces. Each one is so uniquely beautiful and intricate. Marguerite Eichelberger BERRIEN SPRINGS, MICHIGAN While visiting the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, I saw this white peacock and several other species I had never seen before in the garden’s 2019 spring butterfly exhibit. Having so many different butterflies fluttering around was a wondrous experience. Deborah Billings WATKINSVILLE, GEORGIA CATERPILLAR White peacock caterpillars are dark with tiny white flecks throughout the body, in addition to intimidating spines to scare off potential predators.…

Verdins are the tiny gray birds of the brush habitats from southern Utah and southwestern Oklahoma to central Mexico. Despite being relatively common and active, this energetic species can be easy to miss. “Their coloration is so generally cryptic that it feels like a treat to spot one hopping about in the branches—and to get to see the yellow color on its head or the rust color on its shoulder,” says Jennie Duberstein, coordinator for the Sonoran Joint Venture. Dine and Dash Verdins dine mostly on insects. To attract the birds, Jennie has a few recommendations. “Focus on providing verdins the plants and trees with the structures and food sources they need,” she says. “In my yard they love the mesquite and paloverde trees, and they are also fans of…

A Christmas cactus is both a colorful houseplant and a great holiday gift for novice and expert gardeners. It is low maintenance and pet friendly, with brilliant, usually pink blooms that delight. To help a Christmas cactus thrive and flower, there are several best practices to keep in mind. With some TLC, these beauties flourish indoors, growing to incredible sizes. PICK A POT Start by checking the size of your container. If the pot is too large, you’ll have fewer flowers, so don’t size up by more than a couple of inches. Don’t repot while the plant is blooming either, or you’ll lose all the flowers. This plant likes crowded roots, so you won’t need to swap containers very often. RIGHT LIGHT A perk for people with dim indoor spaces:…

We had the good fortune of receiving visits from small flocks of evening grosbeaks in our central Maine yard last winter. One morning in early January during a snow squall, this beauty did me a favor—it took off while heading directly at me. I was ready with my camera, and it was a thrilling moment! Pamela Ewing EMBDEN, MAINE Last year was one of the coldest winters we’d experienced recently, and we were more or less shut in because of heavy snow cover. I walked outside one day and saw these birds sitting pretty on an old clothesline post. From left are a male and female northern cardinal, a purple finch and a dark-eyed junco. Kay Craig Spurlock WILMAR, ARKANSAS During an ice storm last February, I spotted this Carolina…

“The momentum really built,” says Kerrie Wilcox, Canadian coordinator for the Great Backyard Bird Count on behalf of Birds Canada, which joined the event in 2009. From 14,300 global checklists completed in 1998 to more than 330,000 in 2020, the program supported people through the isolation and lockdowns of COVID-19. “Birding is so good for people’s mental health,” Kerrie says. “It gives you a connection to nature that has proved helpful over the past year.” In 2021, reports came from more than 190 countries, and checklists from Canada surged 109%.…

Q Which holly tree is best for attracting birds? David Caccia HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY Melinda: First make sure you have the right growing conditions for hollies and enough room for at least one male for every one to five female plants. Without both, the female plants won’t produce berries. Hollies prefer moist, acidic soil, and evergreen hollies need shelter from winter’s cold winds and bright sun, which can both have a drying effect. American holly (Ilex opaca) is native and may be a good choice. It’s a large tree that serves as a host for several caterpillars, and birds adore the berries. Or consider the deciduous winterberry (Ilex verticillata), a shrub that grows between 3 and 12 feet tall. It’s hardy in Zones 3 to 9 and loses its leaves…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. Enter to win at birdsandblooms.com/contests if you find it. Winners receive a one-year subscription to Birds & Blooms. In the November issue, we hid it on page 37. 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 Dec. 9, 2021, and ends on Feb. 7, 2022. Visit birdsandblooms .com/contests for official rules. 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…

“January is my favorite month, when the light is plainest, least colored. And I like the feeling of beginnings.”—Anne Truitt 1918 Before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, it was legal to keep wild birds as pets. Northern cardinals were a popular choice. 2 Northern cardinals fiercely defend their territories. Two pro sports teams (the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals) are named for this bird and its fighting spirit. 8 Young cardinals are demanding. In the first days after they hatch, their parents feed them up to eight times an hour. 3 It takes three to nine days for a cardinal pair to build a nest, with the female doing most of the work. 20 While most pairs mate for several breeding seasons, about 20% break…