In the woodland is a nice place to be. Here in Chesapeake Country we are fortunate to have some beautiful woodland. Sometimes the wood comes close to the house. Deer, birds, squirrels, hawks and other wildlife often show themselves along the boundaries of the woods or over the treetops. 

        Add a birdfeeder in your garden, and birds will be your visitors.          So you’ll want to make your home safe for them.          Did you know that your home poses dangerous risks to the birds that visit your yard and garden? Window strikes are common among many species of migrating birds, and millions of wild birds are killed annually flying into windows.

        Downsizing has become a familiar term. When children leave home to enter a new life, parents consider downsizing as they will no longer have the help to care for things. As one approaches retirement, it is not uncommon to see couples downsize so they can spend more time traveling, playing golf or becoming snowbirds.  The aging body also encourages downsizing. You can’t do the things you used to do. The Bay Gardener is now facing the same problem.

      Serving Maryland’s home gardeners are 1,800 volunteer Master Gardeners.       A program of the Maryland Cooperative Service of the University of Maryland, Master Gardeners have branches in all but Caroline County. The director is Jon Traunfeld, and under his leadership the program has gained nationwide recognition.

      Frugal gardeners save unused seeds from previous years, thinking they’ll save money.        Like everything else, the price of seeds increases almost every year. But you don’t save money if the seeds you saved and planted did not germinate or grow as expected.

      A good science project can be conducted within a month’s time if you start with seeds. Such studies do not require much space or special light conditions. Seeds are readily available, inexpensive and will provide the diversity you need to make comparisons. For many studies, quart canning jars with screw lids, paper towels, water, salt or vinegar and measuring tools are all you need to study how seeds germinate in different conditions.

      It’s about that time of year when parents come to me seeking ideas for their child’s science project. Most of the time, they are desperate because their children procrastinated in announcing they had to turn in a project idea yesterday.        Here’s what I tell them:

     Orchids are so popular nowadays that they are being offered for sale not only in garden centers but also in drug stores and grocery stores as well as big box stores.          As houseplants, they have the advantage of producing flowers over a long period of time. They tolerate shade and perform well even when abused. They are also light to ship.

      A Bay Weekly reader bragged to me that he’d created an apple orchard by planting a single tree.       “So you purchased one of those trees with four to five varieties of apples,” I replied.       He was crestfallen at failing to fool me.

      Seed catalogs fill my mailbox every day. If you’ve ever ordered seeds or plants, I bet yours is filled, too. Every picture and possibility looks good this time of year. But can you trust everything you read in these appealing pages?