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I've been watching the Cornell Lab of Ornithology webcams for the past week, as great blue heron and red-tailed hawk eggs hatched. It's been fascinating watching the parents feed, shelter and protect their little fuzz balls. I also had an up-close encounter. A pair of cardinals like to nest in the yew shrub, in front of my house. You can see how close they are to the windowsill. The cardinals are empty nesters now, but they haven't gone far.

I love having all types of birds in the yard, although it can get a little LOUD in the early morning. I try and provide an environment to attract birds, including food, water and shelter. I even leave the overgrown yew out front, because I know the cardinals like it. If your yard could use a little more bird song, here are some tips from Melissa Mayntz, our Guide to Wild Birds.

• Design a Bird Friendly Landscape
• 4 Requirements for Attracting More Birds
• Best Ways to Provide Water for Birds

  Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Design for the Birds originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 at 09:00:52.

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Is it that time already? I feel like I just got my plants in the ground and yet they're begging to be pinched back and deadheaded. Perennials really are little attention seekers, aren't they? And after all these years, you would think basil plants would have learned to branch out on their own. Every year we have to train them.  Oh well, I garden because I love it and primping plants is a large part of gardening. After all, they'd be perfectly happy to bloom once and go to seed. We're the ones who expect them to perform week after week. So grab your pruners and get out there. It's time to pinch, prune and deadhead.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Pinch Me! Helping Your Plants Branch Out. originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 09:00:15.

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Rust - Powdery Mildew- Black Spot. Could we be talking about roses"

I've said before that growing roses shouldn't be so worrisome and dreaded. Unless you are growing your roses for show, a little spot now and then isn't cause for alarm. Nevertheless, we all grow our roses for their beauty. So to keep them looking good all season, here are some tips on avoiding problems and what to do if a disease should find its way to your garden.

• Rose Growing Problems - Prevent Rose Problems Before They Occur
• Growing Roses - Dealing with Rose Diseases

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Rose Gardening - A Problem Waiting to Happen? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 09:00:40.

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It's warm enough for the iris to  bloom here, so I planted beans this weekend. I always direct sow my beans. They grow quickly. I grow both pole and bush varieties. The pole beans take a while to start producing and the bush beans fill the void. But they also take up a lot of space, so I'm growing them in large containers this year.

Bush beans are a great vegetable to succession plant every 2-3 weeks. In fact, it's time to sow a last planting of early season fava beans. I'll have to cross my fingers that the temperature doesn't suddenly spike, but that's the fun, and reward, of vegetable gardening.

• Growing Green Beans
• Growing Broad Beans (Fava Beans)
• Growing Shelling or Dry Beans

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Full of Beans originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 09:00:16.

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When I first started gardening, many of my plants were either hand-me-downs or impulse buys. My garden plan consisted of "squeeze it in." Some of those plants have since disappeared and a few have made themselves quite at home. I can't really claim to have improved my garden plan, but I have taken note over the years of what looks good when and I have tried to pair little vignettes to have something featured at any given time during the summer.

You may have heard the term "sequence of bloom"; choosing plants that bloom in succession so there's always something in flower. That's hard to do in a small space and even harder when the weather doesn't feel like cooperating. Thankfully there are other means of keeping interest in the garden, without depending on the whims of either plants or the weather. There are repeat bloomers, clever pruning and that wonderful gift to gardeners everywhere, colorful foliage. So it's no longer a challenge to keep your garden in color all season long.

• 6 Tips and Tricks to keep Your Garden Colorful
• Perennials that Bloom a Long Time

  Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Keeping Your Garden In Color originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 at 09:00:00.

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