Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Jerry Jackson
Q: I want to provide some bushes to make my bird feeders more attractive. I'd like to choose for color and scent, e.g., forsythia, lilac, burning bush. What would be good choices for birds? Are there local plant species I might not know about?
A: You are wise to ask, because many popular shrubs are useless to birds. Some such as burning bush (Euonymus alata) are even invasive in Maryland.
Fortunately there are exciting native choices, such as summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) and fothergilla that are both beautiful, long blooming and richly fragrant! The online book, Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake features color photos of Chesapeake Bay watershed native plants with all the information you'll need, including which plants are most beneficial to birds.
To have birds flocking to your yard year round, shrubs can provide two necessities: food in the form of berries, nectar and insects, as well as shelter for nesting and protection from weather and predators. A birdbath with clean water will fulfill birds' trio of needs in your backyard.
Be sure to plant a variety of shrubs that bloom or berry at different times. Help birds in winter, too, with evergreen and berrying shrubs. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has basic tips and a short plant list: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1143.
Q: I am trying to locate good compost to use in a raised bed garden. What should I look for? Any trusted suppliers?
A: Compost is not regulated. Leaf Gro is a good compost made locally by Maryland Environmental Service and is available in bag and bulk. Their website links to suppliers by county: www.menv.com/leafgro.shtml.
Some farms or stables offer composted manure. Only hot composted manure can kill weed seeds. Be sure composting process is complete before you use the compost.
When you obtain compost from neighbors' yard waste or farm manure, ask what herbicides were used on the yard or in the animals' pasture. A few herbicides absorbed by plants can still be toxic after the plants have finished composting--even after going through an animal's digestive tract first! This contaminated compost can kill your plants.
See our latest newsletter about this problem: http://www.growit.umd.edu/Images4%20-%20Jon/HGICNEWS12.2010.pdf.
Our compost publication will give you compost basics: www.hgic.umd.edu/content/documents/HG35BackyardComposting10_2010final.pdf.
If you don't have your own compost pile, you could try adding organic materials such as shredded leaves and untreated grass clippings directly to your garden in the fall and they should be decomposed by spring.