Creating an inviting ecosystem in your backyard for birds this winter can be simple. Provide things birds need, like a water source, a variety of bird seed and suet, and take care to keep other animals from the bird feeders. Also, make sure there aren't glass windows too close to the feeders that birds might crash into.
And leaving certain natural elements in your yard, like unruly brush piles, dead flower heads and old trees, make your address an attractive one for birds to stop over.
For instance, all kinds of birds can find refuge in "snag" trees in your yard — those are dead or dying trees that are still standing, though fallen trees are helpful for birds, too. As temperatures drop, these trees make perfect places for birds to nest and find shelter.
Brush and wood piles also provide places for birds to hide and nest. And these areas attract insects, which the birds can use as a handy food source over the winter.
Dead and dried elements in your garden can also attract overwintering and migrating birds. They'll enjoy munching on dried echinacea and rudbeckia seedheads, sunflowers and native ornamental grasses.
If you haven't planted native berries yet, consider adding those for next season. Research conducted in 2016 at Colby College in Maine has shown that those native berry species contain more calories and fat.
Those berries with higher fat content will help fuel overwintering as well as migrating birds. Some great varieties to consider for our growing zones include nannyberries, viburnum, aronias, great dogwoods, certain hollies and winter berries.
Native vines can be great additions to a yard, too, and birds will use them as protection from predators, as places to nest, and as food sources. Virginia creeper and trumpet honeysuckle both grow well here and produce berries that birds love.
What ruined leek crop this year?
Q: I have grown leeks for many years. This year I started them from seed. Our leeks have a pest that is tunneling in them. This is the second year that I have seen this pest. I am not putting any leek waste into our compost, so that this pest will not survive and multiply in the compost pile. My question is how do I combat this pest problem? - Dale, via email
A: This sounds (and looks!) like the work of the leek moth. It lays an egg, which grows into a small green caterpillar, similar to the cabbage worm.
Once it hatches, the leek moth caterpillar can tunnel down into leeks, garlic and onions.
The best way to protect your leeks is to grow anything in the allium family under some kind of cover, like micro mesh. Even with micro mesh covering your plants, you can still water through it and they grow just fine. This covering will keep the leek moth from being able to access your plants to lay its eggs.
Another method is to spray bacilis thuringiensis down into the center of the leek plant. This treatment should kill the caterpillar and prevent further damage.
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