The weather is finally cooling — I think winter might be knocking! I was about two months late planting my winter garden… just got seeds planted about mid-November. But everything germinated quickly and seems to be thriving so far: lettuce, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, plus collards and kale. (I “cheated” with the collards and rooted the stalks of collard greens that I bought. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!)
This is still a great time to plant trees and shrubs. As we decorate our homes for the holidays, consider using a living Christmas tree or other natural materials. Then you can plant your tree in your yard in the new year — for privacy, for habitat, or as an interesting feature in your landscape.
Over the years, we decorated a variety of native trees at The Garden Gate. I think the most beautiful holiday tree we had a was a southern magnolia from the nursery. It was growing in a 7 gal. pot and was about 6’-7’ tall, perfectly shaped. We used white lights and added large round ornaments covered in dried pansy flowers or dried hydrangeas.
Fall and winter are a great time to create habitat, especially for birds. Many species are migrating to our area right now. Evergreen native trees and shrubs, especially those that produce fall berries, provide both shelter and food. (Planting close to the windows gives you a great opportunity to watch the birds from the warmth of your house!)
Wax myrtle, yaupon and inkberry holly are excellent shrubs, and easy to grow under a range of conditions. (Keep in mind that the female versions of these shrubs produce the berries, but the males are needed for pollination.) I have a wonderful yellow berry yaupon. These are hard to find, but the birds love the berries.
Evergreen native trees that provide cover and food are oaks, magnolias, pines, and cedars. Acorns from all of our native oaks are an important food source for birds and other wildlife. (After hurricane Ivan, when the winds blew off most all of the still-unripe acorns, local blue jays — usually a non-migrating species— left the area in search of their food source.)
Close to my front porch, I have a cedar, a wax myrtle, and pagoda dogwood. The cedar and wax myrtle are evergreen and the pagoda dogwood loses its leaves. All year round, the cedar and wax myrtle host local and migrating birds for me to watch.
Brown thrashers use them for their low nests, and are always at work beneath them, looking for insects and worms in the leaves composting beneath them. Mocking birds sing their amazing repertoires at the top of the branches, flycatchers fly in and out all summer, male wrens warn everybody of possible danger. The hawks show up for dinner in the late afternoon or early evening, and all the birds and squirrels join together to ward off their common predator. They work together to warn all species, and to bedevil the predator by quickly flying past to distract them.
This time of year, hawks are following the migrating birds that come to our area. They take advantage of the winds brought by the cold fronts, circling very high in the air, often in groups.
Horned owls are nesting at this time of year, often laying eggs in an empty osprey nest. (The ospreys will return to the nest in late winter or early spring, when the owlets have fledged.) Rodents are a favorite food of these large birds, and since they mainly hunt at night, rats are a major food source. So, it is good ecology to encourage owls to control local rodents.
I once lived in a house that had a large sunroom across the back, with a view of Santa Rosa Sound. It was a great birdwatching spot, not only because of the native vegetation, but because I had a bird feeder 10’ from the door, and a birdbath just outside. I spent much of my time in that sunroom (it doubled as my office). A lot of my birdwatching memories took place there.
One of those memorable moments took place at night — the dog, cat, and I were sitting in the sunroom, with open windows. We didn’t hear the approach of the huge horned owl as it glided in toward the bird feeder, but we heard the “squeak” of the rodent as the owl grabbed it. And we certainly heard the whooshing flap of his wings as the owl flew off with his prey. Even though we never saw anything, hearing the event was an amazing experience. We could “hear” the size and power of that bird!
Screech owls are smaller birds, but are also predators of mice and rats. (If you have heard an eerie call at night, then a corresponding call from another direction, you are probably hearing a screech owl. Sometimes the call sounds like a distant siren of an emergency vehicle.)
Screech owls nest in early spring, and they will use a nest box (great gift idea for bird-lovers!) Screech owl boxes need to be off the ground between 10’ and 30’. But what fun to watch the baby owlets as they emerge to cling to the outside of the box!
As for the birdbath — adding any kind of water feature to your yard will bring birds and wildlife. I have a very fond memory of a family of bluebirds visiting my birdbath. A father, a mother, and two fledgling bluebirds flew to the rim of my birdbath.
The father bluebird began the lesson of taking a bath for the two fledglings by jumping in and bathing — vigorously dunking himself and throwing water. The baby bluebirds responded by opening their mouths wide as if to say, “That was interesting, Dad, but FEED US!” Then the mother bluebird got in the water and did a rigorous bath. Once again, the babies responded with wide-open mouths! Hopelessly focused on food!
Most of the migrating birds coming to my yard are visiting my pond as well as the food sources. A water feature with moving water of a fountain or small waterfall will attract even more species.
Bluebirds are also checking out housing right now. (Another great gift idea!)
They usually begin building nests in February, but the real estate selection process for bluebirds begins with the male showing the female the nest box to gain her approval. If you have an open area, adding a blue bird house is great fun.
Feeling crafty? Click here or the bird house pic for great info from IFAS Extension about building nest boxes for Florida cavity nesters.
Bluebirds are tolerant of humans (since we tend to keep away predators), and they are voracious insect eaters. We had a bluebird box on the front gate at the shop, and the adults would make many trips a day across Highway 98 to the bank, and come back with large mole crickets to feed the babies. (I hope the bank appreciated our contribution to their pest control!)
If you are looking for inspiration to add habitat for wildlife to your landscape, please stay tuned! Next year, Beyond the Garden Gate plans to provide tours of local gardens (both public and private).
We are very excited about two residential gardens that we have arranged to tour for next year! Both reflect thoughtful planning and planting, created by the homeowners themselves. Both provide food for people and wildlife. Both attract pollinators and birds. Both are serene and beautiful. We can have it all!
We will also provide tours of public gardens, for even more inspiration. And starting soon, we plan to produce video tours of local nurseries. Native Plant Company, a Milton nursery that specializes in (…guess what??) native plants will be our first visit. Ashley Moore, the owner, will guide us through her nursery and share her knowledge.
We have also been sorting through our nursery. There are plants we no longer want to grow for various reasons: space and time are the main concerns. We do want to continue to grow plants that are hard to find; plants with connections to birds, pollinators and other wildlife; and other purposeful plants. (Even if the only purpose is that we love them!) We will keep you updated about our nursery.
Our mission is to connect gardening and nature with the community. It’s hard to choose the most important word in that phrase! “Connect”, “Gardening”, “Nature”, “Community” — All of these words demonstrate the concept of “Share”. With that in mind, we are planning several learning opportunities: video demonstrations, in-person and hands-on classes, and more garden tours that we hope to share with you, in the hopes that you will share with others.
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