There are a few times of the year that we as gardeners live in a world of wanting to garden and not being able to. I find that from mid to late February till the beginning of March the hardest to bear. The weather can be warm and inviting one day and walks covered with snow or worse ice the next so as gardeners our hands are tied for the most part. Sure we can go about setting seeds and tilling the soil, but I am always tempted by my more creative side. So I fall victim to all of the local Home and Garden events, shows and seminars available. Feeling not alone in this need I am happily supplying my readers with things to do here in Northern Kentucky and yes even South West Ohio for the nest few weeks. These events should be enough to get the ideas and inspiration going. See you at the shows!

38th Annual Central Kentucky Home and Garden Show: April 7 - 10 2011 at the Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky                              ticket information can be found at:   http://www.ckyhomeshow.com/

Cincinnati Home and Garden Show: February 26 & 27 March 2-6, 2011 at the Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati, Ohio                  ticket information and directions can be found at:  http://www.hartproductions.com/home-and-garden-show/                                                                                                                               

Madison County Home and Garden Show : February 26 - February 27, 2011 at the Richmond Mall, 830 Eastern Bay Pass, Richmond KY 40475  Admission is free.

Louisville Home, Garden and Remodeling Show: March 11 - 13 2011 at the Louisville Expo Center,Louisville, Kentucky           ticket information and directions can be found at:    http://www.louisvillehomeshow.com/

Building your own Bird Feeder

Great Parent and Child Project, quick and low mess.

I enjoy sharing my space with nature, that is why I garden. Although a few years ago when I acquired my present home it came with a bird feeder that had seen more then its share of seasons. But as a novice in the bird world I trudged faithfully out to the feeder filling the bin with seeds on a bi-weekly basis. As the winter rolled in this year and I gave the feeder its quarterly inspection I became aware that it just was not going to make it through another winter. Thus started what was a long and expensive journey. All of the feeders I found were just that, expensive. I thought there has to be another way. So I searched the vast intranet and found what I thought would be two easy and inexpensive feeders. The first was the onion net filled with peanut butter and seed, a complete failure. For whatever reason the birds stayed away, and I ended up stripping away the netting and tossed the seed remains into the woods. The next was what I call the Kindling Experiment using a medium sized piece of kindling, I drilled holes, added dowels and food. The end result was I had the most popular feeder in the area!

Materials Needed

Drill                                                                     1/2 pound Suet  

1 screw eye hook                                                1 cup Peanut butter

1 1" - 1 1/4" drill bit                                              1 cup bird seed (Determine and use seed based on

                                                                              type of bird you want to attract)

1 5/16 " drill bit                                                     Skill Level: Very Easy - Successful parent child project

2 12" x 5/16" dowels                                            Extra Equipment: Pruner

1 large branch (I used some precut kindling)       Project Time: 30 minutes depending on skill

                                                                             level

 Cost: about $ 3.00                                              Makes 2 feeders with 9 10 feeding spots 1 1/2 " deep

.

1. Render(melt) Suet in a 350 degree oven. Remove any pieces of solid material left and dispose of properly.

2. Add 2 cups of peanut butter and mix well.

3. Add Birdseed, mix well set aside to cool.

4. Examine the piece of wood you have chosen making note on where you will place your feeding areas. It is best to avoid knotty wood or knots in the piece you have chosen.

5. Drill through the wood entirely or to whatever depth you choose, I went in about 1 1/2".

6. Drill holes beneath each feeding section with the 5/16" drill bit going about 1" deep. There will be a mess of saw dust here.

7. Cut the dowels into 3" pieces using pruners

8. Pre drill a hole into the center at the top of the wood. This is for the eye hook so use the appropriate drill bit for your hook.

9. Insert you cut dowels. They should fit snuggly with no give.

10. Insert eye hook

11. Fill each hole with seed mixture. If you have drilled through the wood, use plastic wrap at the bottom hole to keep the mixture in place until it has set. * I have found leaving the mixture to get to the peanut butter stage makes filling very easy. ** I had some mix left over and placed it underneath bark and in the natural holes of another piece of wood.

12. Hang and enjoy the birds!

Gardening with Your Pet

Harmful and Toxic Plants in the garden

      I am getting ready to make my final seed and planting choices for my garden. However as an pet owner I take the time to make sure that the plants I choose are not toxic to my animals. If I do decide on any plants that might be toxic I will plant them in an area that my pets will not have access to.
      There are any number of lists that are out on the internet or available from your Veterinarian or your local plant nursery.

    However the Humane Society   (http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/plants_poisonous_to_pets.html ) puts out a fairly concise and easy to use chart. Remember to take the time to check to make sure you are not endangering your pets or small children. Although a garden is a place of great beauty and peace it can also be very dangerous.

A brief list of common garden plants and their toxic parts:
Aconite -  Aconitum - common names Monkshood or Wolfsbane - roots, foliage and seeds - garden flower

Apple - Malus domestica (culitvated Trees) - the seeds - tree

Arrowgrasses - Triglochin - leaves - marsh plant

Atropa belladonna - A. belladonna - common Nightshade- entire plant - garden herb

Autumn Crocus - Colchicum autumnale - entire plant - garden flower

Azeleas - Rhododendron - entire plant - shrub

Baneberry - Actaea - berries and roots - wildflower

Bird-of-Paradise - Strelitzia - pods-garden flower

Black Locust R. pseudoacacia - entire plant - tress

Bloodroot - S. canadensis - entire plant - wildflower, herb

Boxwood - Buxus - entire plant - ornamental shrub

Buckeye Tree - Aesculus -  sprouts, nuts,seeds - tree

Buttercup - Ranunculus - entire plant - wildflower, garden herb

Caladium - Caladium - entire plant - house plant

Carolina Jessamine - G. sempervirens - flower/leaves - ornamental plant

Castor Bean - R. communis - entire plant - house plant

Chinaberry Tree - M. Azedarach - berries - tree

Chokecherries - P. virginiana - leaves/sherries/pit - wild shrub

Christmas Berry - Heteromeles arbutifolia - leaves - shrub

Christmas Rose or White Hellaborn - Veratrum album - rootstock, leaves - garden flower

Common Privet - L. vulgare - leaves berries- ornamental shrub

Corn Cockle - Agrostemma - seeds - wildflower, weed

Cowbane - Cicuta virosa - entire plant - wildflower,herb

Cow Cockle - Vaccaria - seeds - wildflower weed

Cowslip - Caltha palustris - common names Kingcup or Marsh Marigold - entire plant - wildflower herb

Daffodil - Narcissus - bulbs - garden flower

Daphne - Daphne - bark, berried, leaves - ornamental shrub

Day Lily - Hemerocallis - entire plant - garden/wild flower

Death Camas - Zigadenus venenosus - leaves, seeds, stems.flowers - field herb

Delphinium/larspur - Delphinium -  entire plant - wild flower

Dumbcane - Dieffenbachia - entire plant - house plant

Dutchman's Breeches - Dicentra cucullaria - roots, foliage - garden

Easter Lily - Lilium longiflorum - entire plant - flowering house plant

Elderberry - Sambucus - leaves, bark, roots, buds - tree

Elephants Ears - Colocasia - entire plant - garden house plant

English ivy - Hedera helix - entire plant - ornamental vine

European Bittersweet - Solanum dulcamara - common names bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade - entire plant - ornamental vine

False Flax - Camelina sativa - seeds - wild herb

False Hellebore - Adonis vernalis -  common names  pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye - roots, seeds, leaves, - ornamental flower

Fan Weed - Achillea millefolium -  common names  common yarrow, gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf and thousand-seal - seeds - wildflower herb

Foxglove - Digitalis - leaves- wildflower garden

Holly - Ilex aquifolium - berries - tree

Horsechestnut - Aesculus hippocastanum - nuts, sprouts - tree

Horse Nettle - Solanum - entire plant - wildflower, herb

Hyacinth - Hyacinthus - bulbs - wild and house plant

Iris - Iris - leaves, roots - wild and garden flower

Jack-in-the-pulpit - Arisaema triphyllum - entire plant - wildflower

Jatropha - Jatropha - seeds - tree, shrub

Jerusalem Cherry - Solanum pseudocapsicum - unripe fruit, foliage - ornamental plant

Jimson Weed - Datura stramonium -  common names  devil's trumpet, devil's weed, thorn apple, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, datura, pricklyburr, devil's cucumber, hell's bells and moonflower - entire plant - field plant

Laburum - Laburnum - foliage - house plant

Lantana - Lantana - foliage-house plant

Larspur - Delphinium - young plants - wildflower

Laurels - L. nobilis - leaves -shrub

Lily of the Valley - C. majalis - leaves flowers - garden flower

Lupines - Lupinus - seeds, pods - shrub

Manchinel Tree - Hippomane mancinella - sap, fruit - tree

Matrimony Vine -Lycium barbarum - leaves. shoot - ornamental vine

Mayapple - Podophyllum peltatum - unripe fruit, roots, foliage - field flower

Milk Vetch - Astragalus - entire plant - wildflower

Mistletoe - Viscum album - entire plants - house plant 

Moonseed - Angiospermae - fruit, roots - vine

Morning Glory - Convolvulaceae - seeds, roots - wildflower

Mountain Mahogany - Cercocarpus - leaves- shrub

Mustards - Brassica - seeds - wildflower

Narcissus - Narcissus - bulbs - garden flower

Nicotiana - Nicotiana - leaves - garden flower

Nightshade - Solanaceae - leaves, berries - wildflower, vine

Oak - Quercus - shoots, leaves - tree

Oleander -  Nerium oleander - leaves - ornamental shrub

Philodendrons - Philodendron - entire plant - house plant

Pokeweed - Phytolacca - roots, seeds, berries - field plant

Poinsettia - Euphorbia pulcherrima - leaves, stem, flowers - house plant

Poison Hemlock - Conium - leaves, stem, fruit - field plant

Potato - S. tuberosum - shoots, sprouts - wildflower

Rhodendron - Rhododendron - leaves - ornamental shrub

Rhubarb - R. rhabarbarum - leaves - garden plant

Sago Palm - C. revoluta - entire plant - ornamental plant 

Skunk cabbage - S. foetidus - entire plant - marsh plant

Smartweeds - Polygonum - sap - wildflower

Snow-On-The-Mountain - E. marginata - sap - wildflower

Sorghum - Sorghum - leaves - grass

Star of Bethlehem - Ornithogalum- entire plant - wildflower

Velvet Grass - Holcus lanatus - leaves - grass

Wild Black Cherry -  Prunus serotina - also known as Black Cherry, Wild Black Cherry, Rum Cherry, or Mountain Black Cherry -  leaves, pit - tree

Wild Radish - R. raphanistrum - seeds - wildflower

Wisteria - Wisteria- pods, seeds - ornamental plant

 Woody Aster - Astereae - entire plant - wildflower

Yellow Jessamine - Gelsemium sempervirens  - common names yellow jessamine, Carolina jasmine or jessamine, evening trumpetflower, gelsemium and woodbine - entire plant - ornamental vine

Yellow Oleander -  Thevetia peruviana - entire plant - garden plant

Yew - Taxaceae - bark, leaves, seeds - ornamental tree