You can’t ever have too many plants.

This is why I find myself, even as the snow blows outside, dreaming about all the new fabulous introductions and pouring over catalogues.  One of my favorites, Plant Delights Nursery, in Raleigh, NC is 110 pages full of gorgeous plants with new varieties, that provide me with page after page of clearly described and beautifully photographed selections.  Bluestone Perennials, in Madison, OH  is another gem.  As with Plant Delights, all plants are listed by their botanical names, in alphabetical order.  Nothing is more annoying to a devoted gardener than a catalogue that only list plants by their common names,  many misrepresentations can be made and you can end up with the wrong choice of plant many even invasive varieties.

In any case, I make endless lists and try to find places to put in more and more new additions to an already full garden, all design principles go out of the window, because the temptation of this or that new plant is too much to resist. How else can I know this particular genus unless I grow it?  I ask myself… for me, that is always a winning argument.  So, dream on fellow gardeners, a couple of more months and we will be able to at least see the grass and early spring bulbs will start peeking from the ground.  In the meantime, I will pour over the new catalogues.

Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do – or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so.  ~Stanley Crawford

 

On Bird Bath Heaters

I learn by trial and error,  this is both time consuming and expensive.  I went on a quest to provide my feathered friends with fresh drinking water through the winter, my main objective was making sure it was both economical and effective. After ordering an economical model from Farm Innovators, I experienced a set back of several weeks, because, it the heater does not work, it freezes solid!  It was necessary to wait until the temperatures were up again in order to extract the heater and sent it back.  I then decided to spend a bit more for a model from Allied Precision Industries which works like a dream!

Installed Bird Bath Heater.

It works in sub-zero temperatures and has 250 watts but will not overheat the water as it has a built in thermostat that will allow the water to heat to 20 degrees Fahrenheit before turning off.

“I don’t ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a misty morning. There they are, and they are beautiful.”
Pete Hamill

Related Articles

• JOAN CARSON: Winter Is Harsh for Feathered Friends (kitsapsun.com)