If you are looking for help attracting more beautiful birds and butterflies into your garden, take a look at George Adams' new book, Gardening for the Birds: How to Create a Bird-Friendly Backyard
This book is well-organized into four sections that systematically provide you incredible amounts of information to help you create a bird-friendly garden, plants with purpose for birds, and regional bird directories.
I particularly liked the detailed calendar for seasonal fruiting by region. I have never seen anything like this before. Adams stresses that planting native plants and trees for your region is key in attracting birds. This is a great guide for studying and reflecting over in a comfortable chair. I wouldn't necessarily want to carry it around with me in my garden. It is visually attractive and superbly detailed with charts and listings with keys such as nesting plants, shelter plants, nectar for butterfly plants, host plant for butterflies, fall color, showy flowers, and more.
My only disappointment in this book, is that I absolutely love it when a covey of quail venture onto my property and into my garden. I consider it a magical day, and simply love their presence, sounds, and their quirky behavior. I would like to attract more quail, more frequently, and Adams briefly mentioned quail only once in the book, and that they are ground dwellers.
I would recommend George Adams' book, Gardening for the Birds (Timber Press), for all of you who would like a more bird-friendly garden.
Pat Leuchtman is one of my garden writing friends and blogs at Common Weeder . She lives in the country down a dirt road in Heath, Massachusetts. This is a gardening region vary different from mine here in Southern California.
I have enjoyed her book, as it is a lively memoir of her life, family, and gardening. Although her book has distinct chapters, this book is a beautiful read about "a life well lived."
I always knew Pat loved her roses, but now I know how this came to be, and how her Annual Rose Viewing was born. A delightful read for those that love roses and especially for me, since I know Pat and her kindness. You can purchase her book, The Roses at the End of the Road at Common Weeder.
My new favorite perennial plant is Verbena bonariensis, also known as Purpletop Vervain. I planted it in mass on one side of my courtyard next to my olive trees and white iceberg roses, and I have really been enjoying it. It is very low maintenance with high "plant appeal."
Don't you wish sometimes you could freeze time? Like after you have just finished deep-cleaning your chicken coop. All the cobwebs are swept away, all of the old bedding has been removed, dust and dirt has been vacuumed out, and the entire chicken coop has been sprayed with 
Don't forget about deep cleaning the nesting boxes, too. Keeping your nesting boxes clean, and with clean bedding makes for happy hens. I mention in my new book, 
, keeping your chicken coop clean and well-maintained goes a long way in raising happy, healthy, and thriving chickens. How often you have to deep-clean your chicken coop is dependent on many variables such as how big is your flock, what kind of chicken coop set-up you have, and how you manage your routine cleaning.
It is the special time of year in our Syrah vineyard when the grapes begin to show their color and start their verasion process. Grapes turn from green and hard to the touch, to their first blush of color and softer to the touch. Verasion in our vineyard tells us we are about 8 weeks away from our harvest, give or take the ensuing weather leading up to the harvest.
with coauthor Rob Ludlow of 
