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Jill Staake

Jill lives in Tampa, Florida, and writes about gardening, butterflies, outdoor projects and birding. When she's not gardening, you'll find her reading, traveling and happily digging her toes into the sand on the beach.

Big Eyes in the Butterfly Garden

Butterflies and caterpillars use “eyespots” to scare off predators in the butterfly garden and beyond!

Attracting Butterflies with Fruit

Flowers aren't the only way to bring butterflies to your garden. Learn about attracting butterflies...

Old-Fashioned DIY Rose Jar

Save the sweet scents of summer to remember all year with your own DIY rose...

Low Tide Beach Birding Tips

Headed to the beach to check out the shore birds? Get birding tips to make...

Attracting Butterflies: Long-Tailed Skipper

These little fliers are more colorful than you might first think. Learn how to attract...

Attracting Butterflies With a Free Milkweed Program

Community member Sandra Williams got her garden club involved in attracting butterflies with free milkweed....

Strawberry Lemonade Freezer Jam

Freezer jam is easy for anyone to make. Try this variation on a favorite flavor!

Mini Colander DIY Bird Feeder

These colorful mini colanders are easy to turn into a DIY bird feeder for smaller...

Feeding Birds with Recycled Baskets

Save money by feeding birds from baskets found at thrift and other bargain stores.

Blue Flag Iris for Wet Flower Gardens

Flower gardens with wet soils are perfect for blue flag iris.

A Visit to Florida’s Sunken Gardens

The towering palms and sunny flower gardens make a visit to the Sunken Gardens a...

Pink-Flowered Strawberries for Your Fruit Garden

Add pink-flowered strawberries to your fruit garden, where they're perfect in containers.

DIY Mini Bud Vase Magnets

Turn small bottles into bud vase magnets for refrigerators or office filing cabinets.

Mini Seed Box Gifts for Valentine’s Day

Turn colorful seed packets into DIY garden projects perfect for gifting on Valentine's Day!
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Tagetes lemmonii For Winter Color in Mild Climates

I almost never begin a post here on Birds & Blooms by giving the botanical...

Finding Specific Birds with a Species Search

Finding Specific Birds with a Species Search

DIY Garden Signs from Tree Rounds

Use slices cut from a fallen limb or tree trunk to create DIY garden signs...
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Winter Cassia

Florida’s fall colors are a little different than those up north. While others are watching...

Easy DIY Fall Pumpkin Garden Stakes

This adorable fall craft uses pumpkins from the dollars store and metal garden stakes for...

Fall in Love with Jacqueline Peach Fusion Mums

This gorgeous flowering plant will take your breath away, even if you don't love most...

Rain Chains

Rain Chains

Recycled Backyard: Slinky Flower Pot Stakes

Recycled Backyard: Slinky Flower Pot Stakes
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DIY Mushroom Solar Light Yard Stakes

A little while ago, we posted some of the most popular pins from our Pinterest...

How to Make a Butterfly Garden Planter

How to Make a Butterfly Garden Planter

Butterfly Love

At the butterfly exhibit where I work, our guests frequently point out pairs of butterflies...

Bloomin’ Onions: Beautiful Flowers of the Allium Family

On our Facebook page yesterday, we featured a “mystery photo” of a flower bloom head...

Pentas: Perfect in Butterfly Gardens

At the butterfly garden where I work, I get asked pretty much every day which...

DIY Grapevine Balls for Nesting Birds

Nesting birds use a variety of  materials to create the perfect place to lay their...

Confederate Jasmine for Outside and In

This time of year, one wall of my house is responsible for perfuming the entire...

Mini Message Vases for Valentine’s Day

After my wearable vases project from earlier this week, I had a bunch of little...