If the snowstorms of winter are making you dream of the pink cherry blossoms, colorful tulips and fragrant lilacs of spring, it’s time to plan ahead for when the frost finally melts. Jump right into the new year with floral celebrations that begin in late winter and run through early summer. Mother Nature decides when blossoms reach their peak, so no matter which festival is calling your name, plan to stay several days for the best chance at seeing the most blooms. Let the countdown to spring begin!

1. Tulip Time Festival

photo credit: John McCormick/Shutterstock Tulip Time Festival, Holland, Michigan

Where: Holland, Michigan

When: May

Nowhere in North American can you see more tulips in one place than in Holland, Michigan, where nearly 5 million Dutch favorites burst forth in a riot of May color. Stroll the
6 miles of Tulip Lanes  or take a trolley tour. Watch parades featuring Dutch dancers dressed in traditional costumes and see wooden shoes being made by hand. There’s even a fireworks show. The International Festival and Events Association lists Tulip Time as one of the top 20 events in the world. Don’t miss it! 

More info: tuliptime.com

2. Camellia Walks at Middleton Place

photo credit: Benita5/Pixabay

Where: Charleston, South Carolina

When: Mid-February to March

See camellias that are centuries old blooming in winter at Middleton Place, a National Historical Landmark and the oldest landscaped garden in the United States. In 1786, French botanist Andre Michaux brought the first camellias in the U.S. to Middleton Place. Today, thousands of individual plants representing more than 1,000 cultivars grace the grounds from mid-February to late March. Walk along the paths to view the blooms at your own pace, or register for a guided tour or workshop.

More info: middletonplace.org

3. International Cherry Blossom Festival

photo credit: Uriel Soberanes/Unsplash

Where: Macon, Georgia

When: March 

The Yoshino cherry trees in Macon, Georgia, have humble beginnings. A local businessman discovered one growing in his backyard in 1949 and shared cuttings with his neighbors. Now Macon has 300,000 of them! Residents celebrate blossom time with a festival that includes free concerts, a parade and a bed race, in which people wearing blossoms in their hair traverse the streets on mattresses.

More info: cherryblossom.com

4. National Cherry Blossom Festival

photo credit: Vizual Studio/Shutterstock National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.

Where: Washington, D.C.

When: March-April

In 1912, the Japanese people gave the U.S. more than 3,000 cherry trees. The National Cherry Blossom Festival followed in 1935, and it now spans four weekends and attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year. Today more than 3,700 trees of 16 different varieties grow along the Potomac River and near national monuments. See them on foot or hit the water to view the lovely pink blossoms via water taxi, cruise boat or paddleboat. Shutterbugs can even take camera safaris with professional photographers. Other highlights of the festival include a cherry blossom parade and a Japanese street festival.

More info: nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

5. Lighted Dogwood Trail

photo credit: Ashley Bean/Unsplash

Where: Paducah, Kentucky

When: April

In early spring, dogwoods brighten the Kentucky landscape with their four-petaled flowers. Walk, drive or bike past historic Paducah homes along a 12-mile trail lined with dogwood and other flowering trees, such as redbud and weeping cherry. At night, parts of the trail are illuminated. The Library of Congress lists the trail in its Local Legacies project, which recognizes unique local traditions. Events include an art and photography exhibit, and $1 trolley rides along the trail. 

More info: paducahky.gov/dogwood-trail

6. Rochester Lilac Festival

photo credit: Anton Darius Sollers/Unsplash

Where: Rochester, New York

When: May 

Celebrate lilacs at this 10-day festival in Highland Park, where 1,200 plants make up the nation’s largest collection of these aromatic blooms. One of the 500 varieties you’ll see is the white Frederick Law Olmsted lilac, named after the landscape architect who developed the park. The festival includes a parade, juried arts and crafts show, live music, and vendors selling lilac soaps and perfumes.

More info: rochesterevents.com/lilac-festival

7. Mackinac Island Lilac Festival

photo credit: Craig Sterken/Shutterstock Lilac Festival, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Where: Mackinac Island, Michigan

When: June 

The climate here helps lilacs grow larger and live longer than in other places in the U.S. In fact, some of the lilacs blooming today were planted during the Victorian era. No cars are allowed on the island, but you can walk or take a horse-drawn carriage tour of flowering lilacs through streets of historic homes. Attend lilac-growing seminars and listen to folk music amidst the sweet scent.

More info: mackinacisland.org

8. Peony Festival

photo credit: Mira Bozhko/Unsplash

Where: Oshawa, Ontario

When: June 

Immerse yourself in peonies at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens in June, when 300 varieties burst into bloom. The annual two-day festival is timed to coincide with peak bloom time. Meander through an exhibit showing artist interpretations of the classic plant, and sit in on a peony-judging contest while Canadian Peony Society members critique the blooms.

More info: oshawa.ca

Fun Flower Facts

1. Ants love the scent of peonies, but it’s a myth that they help open blossoms.

2. One of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite blooms was the lilac.

3. After Japan sent cherry trees to the U.S., the government reciprocated by sending flowering dogwood trees.

4. The buds and leaves of camellia plants have been used to make tea for over 3,000 years.

Looking for an inexpensive and unique Christmas decoration that will delight your local wildlife? Build a tomato cage Christmas tree using fresh greenery, and trim it with popcorn and cranberries, peanut butter pine cones, and fresh or dried fruit. A star-shaped suet feeder tops off this wintertime DIY bird feeder project. Birds will flock to it, and you can re-trim it every few days as they eat up the tasty treats. Here’s how to make it.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree

Materials:

  • Tomato Cage
  • Green garden twine
  • Fresh-cut greenery
  • Popped popcorn (unsalted and unbutttered)
  • Fresh cranberries
  • Strong thread
  • Pine cones
  • Peanut butter
  • Red and white baker’s twine
  • Bird seed of your choice
  • Star-shaped suet feeder
  • Suet
  • Floral wire
  • Other treats your birds will enjoy (see step 4)

Tools:

  • Scissors
  • Wire snips
  • Long needle

Step-By-Step Instructions:

Step 1

Build the Tomato Cage Christmas Tree

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

  • Turn the tomato cage upside down to rest on its circular top. Bend the wire spokes together and tie tightly with green gardening twine as shown.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

  • Starting toward the bottom of the cage, begin bunching fresh greens and tying into place with twine. Work on both the upright supports and the horizontal sections. Don’t worry about whether the twine shows, since the additional layers will cover it as you work upward.
  • Work your way around upward and in a circle, adding more greens as needed to cover the cage completely.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

  • When you reach the top, trim any stems and use only sections of greens covered in needles. Attach carefully with twine, trimming and tucking the twine out of sight.
  • Arrange greens and trim as needed. Add more greens to any place that seems sparse.
  • Mist the whole tree well with water to help keep it fresh.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

Step 2

Make the Popcorn and Cranberry Garland

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

  • Rinse and drain fresh cranberries.
  • Cut a six foot length of strong thread. Tie a large knot at one end. Thread the other end onto the needle.
  • Push the needle through one cranberry and down to the bottom of the thread. Ensure the knot will hold firm.
  • Using unsalted, unbuttered popcorn (microwave popcorn is fine as long as it is plain) that has been allowed to cool, thread 3 kernels onto the thread down to the cranberry.
  • Repeat with alternating cranberry and popcorn until your garland is complete. Tie a knot to finish.
  • Tie one end of the popcorn cranberry garland to one of the wire spoke ends at the top of the tree. Wrap the garland around the tree as desired and tie the other end to part of the cage or a strong branch of greens.

Step 3

Prepare the Peanut Butter Birdseed Pine Cones

  • Tie a piece of baker’s twine around the top of each pine cone to use as a hanger.
  • On a protected surface, spread peanut butter on each pine cone to cover the sides and bottom.
  • Roll each pine cone in a shallow dish of bird seed until completely covered.
  • Tie the birdseed pine cones onto the tree using the baker’s twine.

Tip: If using natural peanut butter that is a bit more runny, put the birdseed-covered pine cones in the freezer for a few minutes to set before hanging.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

Step 4

Add More Treats for the Birds

Add any other snacks your local birds and wildlife will enjoy. Some suggestions:

  • Fresh or dried fruit
  • Strings of peanuts in the shell
  • Suet balls
  • Bird seed ornaments (learn to make them here)
  • Dried millet or other grains
  • Chains of unsweetened breakfast cereal like Cheerios
  • Sprigs of native berries, including holly, juniper, or bayberry

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

Step 5

Attach the Suet Feeder Star

  • Place the unwrapped suet cake into the feeder and close the door firmly.
  • Settle the suet feeder on the top of the tree, pushing in into place among the spoke ends.
  • Use floral wire to secure the feeder firmly in place. Ensure all sharp wire ends are trimmed or tucked inside the tree to avoid injuring the birds.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

Step 6

Place Your Tomato Cage Christmas Tree for Birds

  • Find a good location for your tree so you can watch the birds visit it.
  • If setting the tree on the ground, you may want to use metal lawn staples to hold it in place.
  • If setting it on a table or railing, use heavy bricks or stones to keep it from tipping over.

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree 2

When frost sets in and food disappears, non-migratory animals that depend on summertime insects and plants find a sheltered nook and slow things down—way, way down. Breathing, heartbeat and even body temperatures ease to a bare minimum in winter. Hibernation lasts several months and allows wildlife to survive freezing temperatures and conditions.

Why Do Animals Hibernate?

Winters are tough for many warm-blooded animals, especially when food sources are slim, which is why winter hibernation is so important. To prep for their seasonal slumber, mammals such as groundhogs, bats and bears gorge for weeks in fall to fatten up. Once heart and respiration rates slow, body temperatures drop and less overall energy is used, those fat reserves last for months. (Read more: How Butterflies and Bugs Hibernate)

Where Do Animals Hibernate?

Animals that hibernate are often hiding in plain sight. For example, bats settle inside manmade shelters—church steeples, attics, and the walls of houses—but you can find them in natural caves and tree cavities, too. Some animals that hibernate, including chipmunks, are light sleepers. Although they pack on the weight before winter hits, they also fill an underground storehouse to nibble on throughout the season.

box turtle on moss
photo credit: Danny Brown Cold-blooded animals, like box turtles, hibernate, too.

Do Cold-Blooded Animals Hibernate?

Hibernation isn’t just for warm-blooded mammals, though. Toads, frogs, salamanders, turtles and snakes all hunker down against winter’s chill. Toads and tree frogs burrow deep into the soil, while spring peepers, wood frogs and spotted salamanders seek out crevices in logs or rocks, or snuggle below a thick layer of leaf litter. Once these cold-blooded creatures are safe and sheltered, their bodies start pumping out glucose, a natural antifreeze that prevents their cells from dehydrating as temperatures drop below freezing. Even more incredibly, their breathing and heartbeats may stop completely. Only their brains maintain minimal function as they wait out the winter.

The survival strategy of aquatic bullfrogs, snapping turtles and other water-loving wildlife is to dive deep. They settle on the bottoms of ponds where the water doesn’t freeze. Frogs sometimes bury themselves in mud to hibernate, leaving their nostrils exposed, and turtles breathe through their skin, even if completely submerged in mud. (Read more: Why Toads Are Valuable in the Garden)

The garter snake that’s been in your backyard all summer slithers off to an underground communal den, where it joins dozens to hundreds of its kind to pass the winter. Even land snails sleep through winter, sealing up the openings of their shells after they retreat into nooks and crannies or under dead leaves.

Heart Rate and Respiration During Hibernation

Heart rate, circulation and respiration slow down during hibernation to conserve energy. A hibernating bear’s heart can stop for up to 20 seconds and its respiration may fall to about a breath per minute. Core body temperature in hibernating animals also decreases. For example, the temperatures of Arctic ground squirrels may drop to 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Folks have been using walnuts as Christmas tree decorations for well over a hundred years. During Victorian times, it was common to hang gilded walnuts from the branches, which would ultimately be taken down, cracked, and eaten. Gilded walnuts still make great tree decorations, but why not go a step further with this easy strawberry walnut ornament craft? It’s inspired by one my mom used to make many years ago, using felt leaves and red craft paint with white polka dots. This version ups the bling factor a bit with rhinestones. I also subbed red nail polish for craft paint, since I couldn’t find a red hue of craft paint that seemed exactly right. Here’s how to make these ornaments.

Strawberry Walnut Ornament Craft

Strawberry Walnut Ornament Craft Supplies
  • Walnuts (large)
  • Red nail polish (I used OPI “Not Really a Waitress” Red)
  • Tiny rhinestone adhesive gems (the smallest you can find) in gold and/or silver
  • Glass leaves beads (3 per ornament)
  • Craft glue
  • Monofilament line
  • Tweezers (optional)
Strawberry Walnut Ornament Craft Instructions
  • Paint each walnut with a coat of red nail polish and allow to dry completely. Depending on how well your polish covers, you may need a second coat.
  • Apply the rhinestones in a random pattern. Fine-tipped tweezers may help.
  • Adding the leaves will depend on the type of beads you find. If yours are like mine, with wire loops at the top, snip the wire loops from 2 of the 3 leaves. Leave the third to hold the monofilament line for hanging. Glue them to the top of the walnut (opposite the pointed end) as shown. (Tip: Fill a shallow bowl with rice and nestle the walnuts down into it to hold them still while the glue dries). When the glue is dry, cut a short length of monofilament and pass it through the remaining wire loop to make the hanger.

Strawberry Walnut Ornament Craft

  • If your beads don’t have wire loops, glue the leaves in place as shown. When the glue is completely dry, put another dab of glue in the center of the leaves and press a loop of monofilament into place to create a hanger.

If you love drinking tea and have always wanted to try growing tea plants at home, here is how to get started!

Growing Tea Plants

True tea (white, black, and green) comes from one plant species: Camellia sinensis, hardy in Zones 6 to 9. This plant isn’t finicky (slightly acidic soil, a sunny location and plenty of water will keep it happy), but it grows slowly from seed. It can take three years to get a harvest and cuttings are challenging, so consider purchasing a plant instead. If you don’t have the garden space for camellia, you may already have herbs in your garden, such as mint and lemongrass, that you can use for tisanes, or herbal teas. (Read more: How to Find Your Plant Zone)

Here are the top 10 plants to grow for a mocktail, cocktail or tea garden.

Harvesting Tea Plants

How you harvest camellia will determine the kind of tea you brew. Pluck pale gray leaf buds at the start of the growing season for white tea; when bright green leaves appear, pick those for green tea. Wilt plucked leaves for a day for black tea. Whether you pick buds or leaves, dry your harvest in an oven set to a low temperature (230 degrees or less). If using herbs, research which part of the plant is used for making tea, such as the leaves of the mint plant, the buds and flowers of chamomile or the outer stalks of lemongrass. Freshly picked herbs can be brewed right away. You can also dry herbs to keep your cupboard stocked. (Read more: 9 Little-Known Garden Herbs)

Brewing Tea

Brewing tea all boils down to personal preference. Add about 1 tablespoon of tea blend per person to a kettle of just-boiled water you’ve taken off the heat. Let steep for five to 15 minutes, according to taste. Then, pour the brew through a tea strainer into each cup.

Tea Steeping Tips

  • Don’t overfill the kettle. Judge the amount of water you need by how many cups you will serve right away.
  • For the best-tasting tea, pour fresh water into the kettle for additional cups.
  • Gently tear or crush herbal leaves, buds or roots to release essential oils and boost flavor.
  • Try a tea infuser or ball instead of a strainer for a simpler brewing process.

Cups of Inspiration

When it comes to herbal teas, the possibilities are almost endless. Here are a few to try:

  • Bee balm
  • Bergamot
  • Lavender
  • Lemon verbena
  • Raspberry
  • Rose hip
  • Sage
  • Strawberry
  • Yarrow

This past week was an exciting one here in Tampa. After months of oppressive heat and humidity, the first cold front of the season arrived! Muggy and hot one day, clear and crisp the next – everyone around me opened their windows at last and breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, that same day in Ohio, my dad turned on his furnace for the first time. Changes in season vary from place to place, as do our behaviors in response. Birds are the same; each season brings different activities for the backyard birds you know and love. Here are some bird behaviors to look for as summer gives way to winter.

Bird Behavior
Birds gather in larger flocks, but many are in drab winter colors, like these Indigo Buntings in Florida.
Different Birds and Different Looks

Of course, the most obvious change each season is the different visitors you’ll have in your backyard. We live on a lake, so this is the time I start to keep an eye out for our “winter ducks” – the blue-winged teals, northern shovelers, and ring-necked ducks (among others) that appear down south come winter. At my feeders, palm warblers are returning to dining on seeds after a summer spent eating insects. Up north, grosbeaks and crossbills return from their Arctic breeding grounds.

Other visitors remain the same, but have a different look. Your finch feeders will still be busy, but the bright-colored goldfinches have changed their feathers for a safer but drab winter look.

Changes in Diet

One reason bird behaviors change with the weather has to do with food. Many songbirds spend the warmer months chowing down on bugs. These high-protein snacks give them the energy they need to mate, built nests, and raise their young. This is why many of them seem to disappear from your feeders when the weather is hot. In winter, insects are less readily available, so birds switch to seeds. They find them in the woods, of course, but feeders provide much easier access.

Woodpeckers are especially affected by this change, since many of the insects they’re used to finding in trees are no longer available. Put out a suet block that includes mealworms or high-protein nuts and woodpeckers will flock to it.

Bird Behavior
In areas with marked dry seasons, wading birds gather in larger larger lakes and ponds as watering holes dry up.

Mixed Flocks and Family Groups

Many eyes are better than one set, both for finding food and avoiding predators. During the harder months, birds regularly group themselves together in larger mixed flocks – a gathering of birds with similar needs. These will vary by area, but in areas with chickadees, they’re usually the leaders of the flocks. Other members include nuthatches and warblers. Backyard birders can benefit from these bird behaviors, because a large number of birds may descend on your yard all at once.

In Florida, winter is not only a cooler time, but also the dry season. That means wading birds like herons and egrets also gather in larger numbers as their watering holes dry up. This can lead to spectacular agglomerations of these large and beautiful birds.

Winter is also a time for some birds to finish training their young, since not all birds immediately leave their family group. My backyard is often home to a family of Hairy Woodpeckers all winter long, as last season’s family group grows up and learns to fend for themselves.

These are just some of ways that bird behaviors change in the colder months. Keep your eyes open – you’ll be surprised by what you might see!

I’ll be honest— I’m not really into all the blood, guts, and gore of Halloween. I do, however, love all the spooky creatures like bats, ravens, spiders, and more that get attention this time of year. I recently picked up some inexpensive plastic bats and a large Hercules stag beetle, but wasn’t sure what do with them, since I don’t have a lot of traditional Halloween decor. So I grabbed some gold spray paint and dressed them up a little, and now they have a whole new look! Here’s how I made these easy Halloween crafts.

Easy Elegant Halloween Crafts

Halloween Crafts Materials:

  • Over-sized plastic stag beetle
  • Plastic bats
  • Gold metallic spray paint
  • Gold frame (8″ x 10″)
  • 8″ x 10″ piece of plywood
  • Scrapbook paper in color/pattern of your choice
  • Black twine, about 5′
  • Hot glue
  • White glue
  • Scissors and ruler OR paper cutter

Easy Elegant Halloween Crafts

Halloween Crafts Instructions:

  • Spray paint the beetle and bats gold. Use several light coats per side, and allow to dry thoroughly. (Always use spray paint in a well-ventilated area, and take all precautions listed on the container.)
  • Trim the scrapbook paper to 8″ x 10″. Glue it to the piece of plywood. (Use a thin layer of white glue so the paper doesn’t bubble.) Allow to dry.
  • Remove the glass and backing from the frame. Attach the frame to the piece of plywood using the hardware on the frame, or hot glue.
  • Use a generous amount of hot glue to attach the beetle to the center of the framed paper.

Easy Elegant Halloween Crafts

  • Tie the twine to the bats as shown. If your bats don’t have the same shape as these and tying isn’t possible, you can hot glue the bats to the twine instead.

Easy Elegant Halloween Crafts

Easy Elegant Halloween Crafts

Like inexpensive and fun Halloween crafts? Try this spiderweb planter idea!

Once you start looking around, owls are everywhere, especially in pop culture! Boot up a video game and it’s possible you’ll find an owl or two. In the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a wise owl helps the hero find his way through Hyrule, and players of Pokemon can catch all sorts of bird Pokemon, including ones that look suspiciously like owls! Owls also pop up in commercials, as mascots, and in children’s books and TV shows. We rounded up some of our favorite owls in pop culture to share some fun facts about them.

Owls in Pop Culture:

  1. Wizards and witches in J.K. Rowling’s seven-book Harry Potter series use owls to deliver their mail. The author says her interest in owls began when her mother made her an owl toy when she was 6 or 7.
  2. In the Pokemon game franchise, players are encouraged to catch and train all 801 of the titular fantasy creatures, many of which are based on real-life animals, such as dogs, cats, fish and even owls. Hoothoot, Noctowl and Rowlet are three Pokemon inspired by the bird.
  3. Mr. Owl informed TV viewers it only took three licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop before biting into it himself, but Purdue University engineering students built a licking machine to calculate an average of 364 licks to the center.
  4. Woodsy Owl, the U.S. Forest Service mascot, has encouraged children to protect the environment for almost four decades. One of the classic mottos is “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!”
  5. Besides Pooh himself, Owl and Rabbit are the only two characters from Winnie-the-Pooh based on real animals. The others were inspired by the author’s son’s stuffed animals.
  6. X the blue-feathered owl appeared in the first episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1968. He’s known for his admiration of Benjamin Franklin, even going so far as to occasionally dress up as the Founding Father.

Is Crown of Thorns a good choice for your home or garden? Take a look at these pros and cons before you decide.

Crown of Thorns

Pro: Year-Round Flowers

Crown of Thorns has red or yellow clusters of flowers, with newer varieties boasting larger blooms. In the right growing conditions you’ll have these flowers year-round. Be sure to provide plenty of direct sunlight – at least 3 or 4 hours a day. Give it the sunniest window you have, and move it outdoors for the summer. This plant dislikes sudden temperature changes, and reflects that by ceasing to flower. Be patient – once it adjusts to the new setting, the flowers will return.

Con: Spines, Lots of Spines

The “thorns” in this plant’s common name are no joke. The woody stems of Crown of Thorns are covered in long sharp spines. It’s impossible to handle this plant without getting stuck at least once or twice, so always wear garden gloves, even when watering.

Crown of Thorns

Pro: Easy-Care Succulent

This spiny succulent is shockingly easy to care for, indoors or out. As long as it receives enough sun and is planted in well-drained soil, it should thrive. Water when the top inch of potting soil is dry to the touch. Poke a stick an inch down into the soil and see if it comes up dry. If so, it’s time to water. Water thoroughly and let the excess flow out the bottom. Empty the saucer afterward so the roots don’t sit in the damp and rot.

Con: Latex Sap

Like all euphorbias (including poinsettia), Crown of Thorns has copious amounts of latex in its leaves and stem. This latex can irritate the skin and even cause serious allergic reactions in some people. This offers another reason to always wear gloves when handling this plant. If you or anyone in your household has a latex allergy, pass on this one entirely.

Crown of Thorns

Pro: Grows Well Inside

A year-round flowering plant that does well indoors is the dream of many houseplant collectors. Crown of Thorns likes the same average temperatures as humans (60 – 75 degrees F), but can tolerate temps as low as 50 F or high as 90 F. In zones 9B and higher, you can grow it outdoors as long as you protect it from frost, unless you regularly experiences temperatures higher than 95 F or so. Everyone else should find their home environment just about perfect for this bloomer.

Con: Poisonous If Ingested

Remember that latex sap? It’s poisonous if ingested. If you have kids or pets in your house, this may not be the right choice for you.