Connecticut Audbon Society

Bird Garden

 

July 2023: Blazing star

Monday, July 17th, 2023

July 17, 2023 — In July and August the native meadow flowers start to shine. A standout is blazing star (Liatris spicata), also known as gayfeather due to its feathery flower heads. Its showy purple flowers appear on stalks two to four feet, but occasionally to six-feet high, blooming progressively from the top down.

June 2023: Trumpet honeysuckle

Tuesday, June 20th, 2023

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), also known as coral honeysuckle and woodbine, is a twining, perennial vine originally native to the southeastern United States. Having naturalized to many more northern and western regions, it is now also considered native in many northeastern and midwestern states, including Connecticut. 

May 2023: Chokeberry

Monday, May 22nd, 2023

This month’s Homegrown Habitat plants are the chokeberries. Write to author Sarah Middeleer at homegrown@ctaudubon.org. Red and black chokeberries are two closely related shrubs that are highly attractive to birds and pollinators but are also appealing additions to the garden. They are both native to our region and are tolerant of widely varying growing conditions.

April 2023: Serviceberry

Monday, April 17th, 2023

Homegrown Habitat’s native plant for April is serviceberry, which blooms throughout Conneticut’s woods this time of year. Homegrown Habitat is written by Sarah W. Middeleer, a landscape designer whose work focuses on ecology and designing for wildlife. She serves as vice chair of the Connecticut Audubon Board of Directors. Write to her at homegrown@ctaudubon.org. Serviceberries […]

March 2023: Pussy Willow

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

For March, Sarah W. Middeleer writes about a native plant whose flowers signal early spring. Sarah is a landscape designer whose work focuses on ecology and designing for wildlife. She serves as vice chair of the Connecticut Audubon Board of Directors.

Homegrown Habitat answers the mail

Monday, February 27th, 2023

February 27, 2023
Sarah Middeleer is happy to answer your questions about how to make your property more attractive to birds. Write to her at homegrown@ctaudubon.org. Most recently she’s gotten questions about winterberry and native shrubs.

February 2023: Redosier Dogwood

Tuesday, February 21st, 2023

February 21, 2023 — Redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea), also known as red-twig or red-stem dogwood, is a handsome shrub form of the genus Cornus. The fruit of the dogwood genus (Cornus) is eaten by at least 95 species of birds.

January 2023: Eastern Red Cedar

Friday, January 20th, 2023

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a handsome evergreen conifer that offers structure and winter interest to our gardens. It is often overlooked, but cedar has much to offer the home gardener and is a magnet for birds and many species of butterflies and moths.

December 2022: Winterberry

Thursday, December 15th, 2022

  Homegrown Habitat provides advice on what and where to plant, one per month, written by Sarah W. Middeleer, a landscape designer whose work focuses on ecology and designing for wildlife. Sarah serves as vice chair of the Connecticut Audubon Board of Directors. Write to her at homegrown@ctaudubon.org. Winterberry Ilex verticillata December 15, 2022 — […]

November 2022: Witch Hazel—A native plant with deep roots in Connecticut’s history

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

November 17, 2022 — Common witch hazel is, in the words of Edwin Way Teale, “a botanical individualist.” As I researched this remarkable plant, I couldn’t agree more. I would add that its individuality extends to historical and cultural realms as well. This large deciduous shrub is the last plant to come into bloom each year in the Northeast; its Y-shaped branches have been used as divining rods to discover underground water; it has played a fascinating role in Connecticut’s industrial history; and its extract has been hailed for hundreds of years as a balm for irritated skin, among other maladies, and continues to be used in cosmetics and personal care products to this day.

October 2022: Tupelo

Monday, October 24th, 2022

October 24, 2022 — Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) is native to so many regions (from Ontario south to Florida, Texas and Mexico, and west to Michigan and Wisconsin) that it has many other common names, including nyssa, sour gum, black gum, and pepperidge. This elegant deciduous tree is at its ornamental best in fall, when its foliage transitions from yellow to apricot, orange, and bright scarlet.

This Invasive Plant Symposium can help you improve your property for birds

Monday, October 24th, 2022

October 24, 2022 — The Connecticut Audubon Society is co-sponsoring an upcoming symposium that can help you improve your property for birds and plants. The theme is Strategies for Managing Invasive Plants: Assess, Remove, Replace, and Restore.

September 2022: American Hazelnut

Thursday, August 18th, 2022

The series starts with a plant that is at its best in autumn — the American hazelnut. Also known as American filbert, this hazelnut is a native shrub that produces nutritious nuts similar in flavor to its cousin the European filbert. But it’s often grown to serve birds and other wildlife.

Video: practical advice from Pete Picone of the CT DEEP

Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

Peter Picone, who has worked as a wildlife biologist for more than three decades for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, spoke at our 2020 Annual Meeting. His talk, “Wildlife and Habitat Are Inextricably Linked: Enhancing Habitat One Native Plant At A Time,” is filled with practical ways for you to improve your […]

 

 

 

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