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1 week ago | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lori Vanover |Kirsten Schrader
What Does a Horned Grebe Look Like? “Can you identify this bird?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Tommy Sharp of Crossville, Tennessee.
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1 month ago | 
birdsandblooms.com | Sheryl DeVore |Kimberly Kaufman |As a teenager |Kirsten Schrader
House SparrowThis sociable bird was introduced from Europe to New York in 1852. It’s common throughout most of North America, although its numbers have declined both here and abroad. The male house sparrow has a gray and rusty crown with pale cheeks and a black bib. It nests in man-made cavities, including streetlights and gas station roofs (and often competes with bluebirds for nest boxes).
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2 months ago | 
birdsandblooms.com | Carol J. Michel |Melinda Myers |Kirsten Schrader
Ball Horticultural Company 10 Mini Vegetables That Are Adorable AND Edible Ball Horticultural Company Published on Jan. 30, 2025 Minimal space? Try planting mini vegetables! From basil, to tomatoes, to peppers, there's plenty of mini vegetables for every gardener.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lori Vanover |Kirsten Schrader
How to Grow a Holiday CactusCOULANGES/ShutterstockWith long, flat flashy stems and showstopping flowers in shades of pink, purple, white and red, this cactus is a long-lasting houseplant that can blossom long after the holidays are over. Just keep it in a consistently warm spot (70 to 80 degrees) during the bloom season. This cactus asks for next to nothing from its caretaker and will readily live on for years and years.
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Oct 4, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lori Vanover |Melinda Myers |Kirsten Schrader
Longest White House GardenerIn 1961, horticulturist Irvin Williams was selected to supervise installation of the Rose Garden during the Kennedy administration. He was head gardener for nine presidents before retiring in 2008. Elm Tree Storm DamageIn 1991, lightning destroyed an elm tree most likely grown from a seedling planted by John Quincy Adams. A cutting was grafted onto a replacement elm.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
msn.com | Kimberly Kaufman |Kirsten Schrader
Continue reading More for You
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Ellie Martin Cliffe |Kirsten Schrader
The Secret Life of OwlsMy love affair with owls bloomed slowly. In fact, until recently, they terrified me—I wanted to be nowhere near their hooked beaks, sharp talons and wide eyes. My phobia peaked when I shared a campsite with a family of screech-owls and imagined that an attack was imminent. But a certain book about young wizards with pet owls peaked my curiosity, and I soon became completely enamored of these birds. Owls live on every continent except Antarctica.
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Sep 24, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lori Vanover |Kimberly Kaufman |As a teenager |Kirsten Schrader
What Does a Cassin’s Finch Look Like? Male Cassin’s finches are hardly streaked, lending them a vibrant plumage. “To me, the Cassin’s finch always seems brighter,” says Dusty Downey, conservation ranching manager at the Audubon Rockies. The rich red crown of a male Cassin’s makes a striking contrast to its pale body. Cassin’s Finch vs House FinchOne could easily confuse the Cassin’s finch with the closely related purple finch or even the more familiar house finch.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lori Vanover |Melinda Myers |Kirsten Schrader
Most Heads on One SunflowerImpress your friends with these amazing facts about sunflowers. According to Guinness World records, a sunflower in Michigan had 837 heads on one plant!No Green Thumb RequiredSunflowers are one of the easiest plants to grow. Pop a sunflower seed in the ground, give it a good drink of water, and you should see a green sprout in about 14 days!Tallest Sunflower EverA sunflower in the Germany grew over 30 feet high, an impressive world record.
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Sep 6, 2024 | 
birdsandblooms.com | Lisa Ballard |Melinda Myers |Kirsten Schrader
An Invasive Maple Came to the U.S. Centuries AgoNorway maple, classified as highly invasive in the United States, was first imported from Europe and Asia in 1756 as an ornamental landscaping tree. Is an Amur maple shrub invasive? It Takes Lots of Sap to Make Maple SyrupIt takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Sugar maples are the biggest sap producers, so they are favored by maple sugar makers.
