Some Simple Natural Garden Design Tips

Here are a few ideas for planning and planting your gardens.

Wharton Memorial Gardens, Bedford, Virginia

Odd Number Plantings: When deciding on flowers for your gardens, it's always a tough decision. How many should I buy? Do I have room for three or more? Is one plant going to look too scrawny in the place where you want to plant it. Is the cost of one specific plant more than enough for your current budget.

If you are able, and you have room for them, and it fits in your budget, it's always visually appealing to plant your flowers in groups of odd numbers. By planting in groups of three, five, etc., of the same flower, that is usually more satisfying to the eye, and gives a more pleasant visual appearance.  This can also be achieved by using an odd number of the same color of plants that bloom at the same time.

When you plant in odd numbers they look more natural than an even number of plants. But of course I don't always abide by that rule myself. My garden beds are not that large and also because of cost, I might only buy one plant of a specific species. I'll try that plant to see how successful it is in my garden environment, and how it holds up with our severe winters. I also like to see how big the plant gets, and if it spreads very much. I tried planting three Siberian irises one year, and they just about took over the whole garden area where I planted them in. I must have ended up with over 50 Siberian irises when I split up that grouping of three.

Balancing your garden with symmetry by using an even number of plants is more suitable for the formal garden. When you have an even number of groupings like two, four, etc. your mind is always trying to balance out the flow of the garden.

Here is an interesting article on planting your garden in groups of odd numbers: Planting in Odd Numbers; The Secret for a Beautiful Garden

Mass Plantings of the Same Plants: You can achieve a very coordinated look in your yard/gardens if you use the same color of plants throughout your flower beds. When using this technique your plants should be hardy and low maintenance. I've attempted to achieve this by using sundrops (Oenothera Frutiose 'Fyrverki') around my house which a friend of mine shared with me (thank you, Tammy). Well, I have to say that this is one of the best flowers ever. They thrive in full sun, but will also do fine in some shade. They do re-seed easily, and will spread out from runners in the shape of rosettes, but they are easy to pull out if they start getting invasive in an area. I've planted them all over and they add spots of color and highlights in my yard. They seem to do well in just about any soil condition. And the leaves have some red on them. They do not do well in poorly drained soil. I just wish the bloom time was longer for them. However, the stems and leaves stay attractive until fall, and the leaves will have additional red coloring in them. Here is some additional information on Mass Planting.

Sundrops (yellow flowers)

Foliage Texture and Color: You might try adding various plants that have a different leaf texture or color. This creates a contrast and adds interest in your garden. One way to achieve this would be by adding some variegated plants. You can also mix it up by adding some different colored hostas or coral bells (Heuchera). The heuchera are now available in several different colors of reds, rust, lime green, and mixed colors of all of the above.

Left- Hosta (unsure of variety), Burgundy Heuchera, and Campanula Blue Waterfall (not in bloom yet)

Variegated Solomon's Seal, ferns growing behind them, and ivy at the base. 

Curved Borders and Edgings: Another simple design principle is the use of curved edges surrounding your flower beds, lawns, and borders. When you have a curved edge in your garden, your eye is following it and not stopping at the 'end' of the line. It creates a softer line while a straight border appears to create a hard edge. It also creates mystery about what's going on around that curved edge, and it appears to be a more natural border with a nice flow.

Curved walkway and borders. This photo and the one below is from the Wharton Memorial Gardens, Bedford, Virginia

While both walkways are visually appealing, the curved walkway in the photo above this one offers more interest.

You do not have use bricks or stones to add a path. You can do it with your grass/lawn by mowing an area into a pathway. There are several materials you can use as well such as gravel and mulch. Here is a link with some photos of garden borders and paths and the materials used for the paths: 9 Ways to Create a Garden Path
Even if you are not interested in doing a path the photos are beautiful and demonstrate the curved borders very well.

This is one of the paths in our backyard. 

The photo at right is one of the paths that my husband 'mowed' through our ivy. I wanted a place to grow some hostas without having the ivy take it over. After mowing, the paths were covered with pine needles or mulch. When the ivy starts coming up through the mulch my husband will mow it. The paths only have to mowed a few times a year.

There are really no rules when it comes to YOUR Garden! It's your garden and you can do what you want and what appeals to you. If you don't like something after a few years or if you have a plant that's too fussy, dig it up and give it away to a friend or toss it out. Or if it's doing great you can propagate it and increase your number of plants.

Here is a list (alphabetical order) of Common Plant Names and suggested uses for that specific plant: Common Plant Names

Eastern Phoebe with bug in it's beak

Eastern Phoebe: The Eastern Phoebe is a flycatcher. The flycatchers are a family of birds that catches flying insects. Insects are their main diet. They are pretty funny to watch sometimes because they will fly in patterns similar to a hummingbird, and occasionally will fly around your windows or doors trying to catch spiders or flies. They will sit on a perch or branch and scout for something flying around that looks good enough to eat. They will also return to the same perch or branch. Also when sitting they will flick their tail up and down.  They also catch their insects off of branches and leaves. When I saw one of these birds for the first time I was able to identify it by it's call. It sings out a raspy squawk of "Phoebe".

The Phoebes construct their nests of mud and grass, and usually in a protected area such as under a bridge, a barn, house or shed. The bird in the photo above is using the same nesting spot that they did last year which is on the side of our pole barn (pictured at left). I haven't been able to get a photo of them on the nest (yet). Right now I'm pretty sure their eggs have hatched because they've been busy flying back and forth to the nest.

The Phoebes are found in open woods such as parks, woodland edges, and yards.

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."

~ Steven Jobs

You can never have enough toads in your gardens!

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500 Plus Shades Of Green

I love this time of year! When you drive down the road and see all the trees with new leaves on them and they are all various shades of green: lime green, forest green, chartreuse, mint green, spring green, fern green, hunter green, moss green, and evergreen to name just a few.

And when the sun shines through the leaves you can almost see the leaves unfurl before your eyes. You want to rush the season and have summer here in full bloom. But lets not rush it. . .  I have to keep reminding myself - after all I still have tulips blooming.

To me, I would like this time of year to last a lot longer because I know that once the trees are fully leafed out, they loose that spring vibrancy of the various shades of green.




















Have  you ever noticed that a lot of your spring flower colors are pastels? Pinks (tulips, bleeding hearts), yellows (daffodils, primroses), light blues (forget-me-nots), purples (violets, lilacs, irises)? And then the summer flower colors are hot colors like reds (zinnias, dahlias), hot pinks (purple coneflowers), gold (sunflowers, black-eyed Susans), and orange (daylilies, butterfly weed)?



The month of May here in the Northeast got off to a slow start, but now the spring flowers are bursting out, and the summer perennials have now grown into small mounds. Some of our perennials haven't even emerged yet like the hardy hibiscus. Still no signs of them. I think they are one of the last perennials to emerge.

Lily-Of-The-Valley

I want to highlight the Lily-of-the-Valley in this post seeing as that's the flower for the Month of May.

This is a very sweet scented plant with lovely little hanging, white bells. This plant is poisonous (like many other plants) so be careful when handling it. Also, because of it's strong scent children might be attracted to the plant so be mindful if children are in the area of where it is growing. It likes cool temperatures and it is native to Asia, Europe and the southern  Appalachian Mountains in the United States.

I have a few patches of this flower growing in my back yard. It spreads by sending out stems called pips or rhizomes underground. It prefers the shade, but will grow in sun. It can be used as a ground cover. However, I found that it is pretty slow growing and if you have other ground covers in the same area they might overtake it and eventually crowd it out. Because we have a large yard I have not found it to be invasive in areas where we planted it, but it has been reported as being invasive in some areas.

It grows to about 6-12 inches tall. When the leaves emerge in the spring they appear like a tight rolled up stalk. The flowers usually only last about a week or so, and occasionally it will form a red berry in late summer containing white seeds. For all the years I've had this plant I have seldom seen the berries on it. Children may be attracted to the berries because of the color, but they are also highly poisonous.

After the flowers die back the leaves will  stay green in your garden until fall. The leaves are sword shaped and are very tender in the spring, but get a little tougher and thicker throughout the growing season.

The wedding bouquet carried by Catherine (Kate) Middleton to Prince William featured the Lily-of-the-Valley flowers.

If you would like to know what your flower is for the month you were born in, and what it symbolizes you can find it in this chart: Birth Flower.

Forget-Me-Nots

Another prolific spring flower is the Forget-Me-Not. The Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis Sylvatcia) is a little blue flower on stems that are from 8 to 12 inches high. Occasionally you will see some pink or white flowers in the group. The flowers are pretty tiny but appear in large clusters.

The Forget-Me-Nots are so easy to grow. I was given some plants by a friend of mine (Rosie) several years ago. She told me that when they come up in the spring, after they flower and then go to seed, just pull the plant out and sprinkle the seeds around where ever you want them to come up the following year. And that works! You can have these flowers coming up all over the place (and sometimes not by choice). They will re-seed quite easily in shady, damp areas (we have a lot of damp areas in spring). If they are coming up in your lawn you can just mow them down when they're finished blooming. If they are in a perennial garden where you don't want them they are easy enough to pull out. They are a bi-annual. Which means that they will come up the first year (Forget-Me-Nots germinate and come up in the fall), and the second year they will flower, produce seeds and then die. So if they are in a place where you do not want them, pull the seedlings out in the spring or when the appear again in the fall.

Some spring garden tasks that you might want to do (as if you don't have enough to do already) would be to trim your spring flowering bushes after they are finished flowering such as azalea,  lilacs, forsythia, bridal wreath spirea, flowering crab apple,  bigleaf hydrangea, magnolia, mock orange, rhododendron, and weigela. These shrubs should not be trimmed in the fall because you would be trimming off next years flowers. Also, you do not have to trim them back if you like the current shape they are in, but just remember that in the fall they might have gotten quite large and then if you trim them you might be trimming off next year's blooms.

A tip for lilacs that I just read recently (but can't remember where and I would like to credit the source) is that if you have rhododendrons and azaleas growing in your yard and they are doing great, then you probably can't grow lilacs. Your soil is probably too high in acid. Lilacs like a low acid soil.

The last several years, I've had problems with our lilacs failing to bloom and I thought it was because we have too much shade (which is probably part of the problem). But it's most likely the soil. As our pine trees grew larger, more pine needles are produced and dropped adding acid to the soil. I have read too, that you can put wood ashes around your lilac bushes and that should help by increasing the alkaline in the soil and may improve blooming. Also, if you are using a lot of fertilizer that contains nitrogen, that will also keep your lilacs from blooming. Especially when you are fertilizing a nearby lawn. What happens is that all the energy in the plant will go to producing lots of foliage instead of creating the flowers.

Also, don't be afraid to cut lots of lilacs off your bushes when they are in bloom for yourself or a friend. Trimming these bushes keeps them healthy and will provide you with lots of blooms the following year.

Here is a good article on trimming your lilac bushes: Pruning Lilacs

House Wren

"While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation."

~Maya Angelou
R.I.P. 1928-2014

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#Gardening  #Nature  #NaturePhotography  #LilyOfTheValley  #ForgetMeNots  #Lilacs  #Blogging  #Blogger

Memorial Day / D-Day 2014

Bedford, Virginia

Last month my husband and I attended our nephew's wedding in Bedford, Virginia. What a beautiful setting  in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a spring wedding. The weather was perfect, too.

This village is located between Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia. There are hiking and biking trails, wine trails, shopping, cultural activities, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forests, the Appalachian Trail, the Blueridge Parkway, and a historic downtown area.

Blueridge Mountains

There is also a beautiful, small memorial garden next to the public library called Wharton Memorial Garden.

While we were there we had time to visit some of the local attractions and drive around the beautiful countryside. The mountains and views were breathtaking.

Wharton Memorial Garden, Bedford, VA

Wharton Memorial Garden, Bedford, VA

Before we headed to Virginia for the wedding, one of my friends from Mexico, New York (thank you Alma), shared some pictures of a National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. I had never heard of the Memorial before, but it sounded very interesting. And realizing that we would be visiting Bedford, VA for the wedding I thought it would be great to take the time to visit this Memorial.



So What Does Bedford, Virginia have to do with Memorial Day?


As per Wikipedia: 
"Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered. The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the final Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end. 
Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans."


A few years ago, Bedford, Virginia was chosen as the official site for the National D-Day Memorial.The community of Bedford, Virginia lost the most lives per capita in the nation on D-Day.  

The National Memorial honors the Allied Forces that participated in the D-Day Operations in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 during World War II. This year on June 6, 2014, marks the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.


















This was the largest amphibious landing ever in the world on the fortified shores of the French coastline to fight Nazi Germany. 150,000 allied troops landed on a 50 mile stretch of the coastline. More than 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft also supported the mission. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. More than 9,000 Allied Troops were killed or wounded as they made their way across Europe to defeat Hilter.








This site was dedicated June 6, 2001 by then president George W. Bush.

The arch is at the center of the Memorial Grounds. "Overlord" was the code name given to the Allied operation D-Day.

The National D-Day Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The memorial does not receive federal funding. The memorial is maintained and supported by contributions and admission fees.

There are various ways to make a donation to this Memorial. One of them would be to "Buy a Brick for a Veteran". For $250 the inscribed bricks are a permanent tribute to men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. These tributes are not just for World War II, but are available for any service period. Here is the link for that information: The National D-Day Memorial Veterans Brick Campaign

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

There are various programs and events that are planned here throughout the year. The link to their website (below) offers a calendar with the schedule.

The other countries that participated with support are recognized here as well: United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Poland, Greece, France, Czechoslovakia, Norway, and New Zealand.

June 6, 2014 marks the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and several special events are planned at the Memorial.

The memorial is a tribute to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifices of the D-Day participants. It is a very solemn and sacred area. Beautifully planned English gardens surround the memorial with perennials and benches.

Daily tours of the grounds are offered. There is an entrance fee of $8 per adult, $5 (children 6-18 or valid college ID), and Veterans are free. There is a small additional fee for the guided walking tour. I recommended the walking tour. The guides are very well-informed and are all volunteers. Our tour guide was a local retired history teacher and was wonderful and very knowledgeable.

Please remember our honored Veterans who lost their lives serving our Country this Memorial Day weekend. 

Link to National D-Day Memorial Bedford, VA:  http://www.dday.org/
Link to Bedford, Virginia
Link to Wharton Memorial Garden, Bedford, VA
Link to Wikipedia Operation Overlord

#BedfordVA #DDay #MemorialDay

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Spring Flowers and Summer Residents (Birds) of Upstate New York

House Wren

Well, Spring has finally Sprung!

The leaves on the trees have finally made an appearance, the spring flowers are in bloom, and the birds that make their breeding grounds in the north have returned. It was a slow process, but every year it's worth it. I always get excited when the perennials start poking through the surface of the ground. And to hear the song of the house wren when they have arrived -  you just know that Spring is here at last.

House Wrens:  The house wrens are a small (4" long) bird that are very active. They are the most common wren in the East. It can be aggressive and will ward off other birds trying to nest nearby. They have a loud and bubbly song. As a matter of fact they've been known to wake me up early in the morning. They will use nesting boxes if they are available, and they usually will nest no higher than 12 feet off the ground. The opening should be about 1&1/8 inches wide. They are found in shrubs and brushy areas. They prefer open forests, forests edges, and grassy areas with trees. They will build nests in city parks, backyards and farmyards.

They are usually seen with their tail in an upright position.

Here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Orinthology Nest Box Resource Center if you would like more information on constructing your own nest boxes.

This wren has nesting materials in its beak.

White Crowned Sparrow

White Crowned Sparrows: There are several species of sparrows and sometimes it's confusing trying to identify them. A lot of them look similar and sometimes it comes down to whether or not they have a certain eye stripe, wing bar, or a different colored beak, which are among a few of the identifying characteristics. There are Sparrows with streaked breasts, unstreaked breasts, short-tailed grass sparrows, marsh sparrows, and white-tailed sparrows to name just a few. They mostly eat seeds that they search for near or on the ground. You will find them in flocks when they are not nesting.

The White Crowned Sparrow has the identifying white and black stripes on the head, and light pink beak, and plain gray breast. It is a rather large sparrow, and has a long tail. Most of the time when you see them they have a very erect posture. I took the picture above when I was walking through my back yard this past week to get some photos of hostas, when I scared up a small flock of them that had been eating seeds under a pine tree. The immature birds have the same markings except the stripes on the head are brown rather than gray.

They live in areas that are brushy with open or grassy areas so they can search for food. They love brush piles to hide in and search for food.

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. This one looks like he might be molting.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak. You can imagine my excitement the first time I saw one of these birds in our backyard. So colorful and stunning. And the song or chattering it made. Sounded similar to a robin. It didn't take us long to identify him with his distinguishable coloring characteristics. What a beauty. And pretty big, too. They are a little smaller than a blue jay, over 7". Their large beak is designed for cracking open large seeds like sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, and peanuts. In flight the males have a red/pink patch under the wings and the females have a yellow patch under their wings. (Not that I've had a lot of opportunities to spot the underneath of their wings.)

You will find them on the edges of forests and woodlands. When they are migrating south in the fall you might see them in fruit trees searching for food for their long flight south. If you don't live in an area where the Rose-breasted Grosbeak spend their summers they might visit your feeders on their migration route either in the spring or fall.

Female and Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, pictured at the top of the feeder at right, doesn't look much like the male except for the heavy, conical beak. The female is brown, with stripes on the breast and a white stripe above the eye. The immature Rose-breasted Grosbeaks resemble the females.

Female Ruby-throated hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: You know it's spring when the hummingbirds have returned. They are the smallest bird in North America, and the only bird that can fly backwards. They have long, slender beaks to reach into flowers for nectar. Only the male has the bright red throat.

The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird east of the Great Plains. If you want to see other species of humming birds you need to plan a trip out west.

They live in open woodlands, forest edges, meadows, gardens, backyards, and parks. They are attracted to the color red.

Male Baltimore Oriole at Oriole feeder

Baltimore Oriole:  This is the only orange oriole east of the Mississippi. They love fruit (especially oranges), nectar and jelly. (I haven't tried the jelly yet.) In the feeder above I used the hummingbird mixture available in stores. And the hummingbirds also use this feeder. You will find Orioles high in the trees, but not in forests. They usually prefer orchards. open woodlands, forest edges, trees along rivers, parks, and backyards.

Oh, and who ever said hostas were boring?

What Do Black Flies, Hostas, and Weeds Have In Common?

They are all breaking out at the same time!

Well, if you've been outside the last few weeks, and you've got some trees or bushes in your yard (and of course dirt) chances are you probably have at least two of the above three: black flies and weeds! Wow! Is it me or have the black flies been really bad this year. My husband says it's me, because he knows when they're that bad I usually just stay in. But I've been trying to get some weeding done. It's been so wet the past few weeks, that I couldn't even get out there to weed. Oh, and Cold! I forgot to mention how cold it's been. Well, with the warm temperatures we've had this past week, its been was drying up, and the heat hatched out the black flies.

Not sure if black flies are common over the rest of the country, but they are an insect that is a little bigger than a fruit fly, but smaller than a house fly, and are they ever annoying. And when they bite they draw blood, and sometimes it can swell up. I usually like to weed in spring with sweat pants on (we usually have a cool spring), but it got so warm I had to get out my summer clothes. And I paid for it. Bites all over my ankles, neck and arms. They are only out during the day, and they usually don't come out when it's windy or cold. If that's the case they'll stay in the warm earth or bushes. They go for thinner areas of skin on the body like the ankles, behind the ears, and behind the neck. In the past I have actually weeded my garden with a raincoat and hood on to avoid being bitten by these insects. They usually only last for a few weeks starting in May, but depending on the area, like the Adirondacks, they can hatch out later in the season. Usually the species in our area only have one generation, but depending on the species, they can hatch out several generations per year.

"Black fly larvae and pupae develop in flowing water, typically non-polluted water with a high level of dissolved oxygen.  Suitable aquatic habitats for black fly larval development vary greatly and include large rivers, icy mountain streams, trickling creeks, and waterfalls.  Larvae of most species typically are found in only one of these habitats." 
Taken from: Purdue Public Health Insects Black Fly

Well, in our area we have all of the above aquatic habitats. If you plan on doing any hiking, camping, or boating in the next few weeks be prepared for these pests. If you will be venturing into one of these areas you might want to bring a insect repellent containing Deet, and wear protective clothing.

Here is some more information on black flies as per Wikipedia: Black Fly

And How About Those Weeds? This is  a great time to weed your gardens. In spring the ground is usually somewhat moist (after this week pretty soggy), and the weeds are just starting grow. It's best to try to keep up with the weeds this time of year because you will keep them from going to seed if you can eradicate them now and continuously throughout the growing season.

Chestnut tree leafing out

One of my neighbors always used to weed right after a rain (I always thought it was too wet), she would get a little muddy, but she told me that the weeds pull out easier when the ground is wet. Well, she was right. As long as it's not too muddy I'll try to get out there and weed after a rain.

After you weed, if you want you can put down a pre-emergent weed killer like Preen. You sprinkle this on top of the soil and water it in. It will kill the roots of seedlings that have recently germinated. But DON'T use a pre-emergent weed killer if you want new seedlings to come up from your annuals or bi-annuals (like foxgloves). The pre-emergent weed killers will kill all new seedlings. It doesn't know the difference between your flower seeds and the weeds.

No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere.

~ Sheryl Crow

Jack-in-the-Pulpit  Wildflower growing in our back yard (just came out of no where!)

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#Nature  #Nature Photography  #HouseWren  #WhiteCrownedSparrow  #BaltimoreOriole #RoseBreastedGrosbeak   #JackInThePulpit #BlackFlies

Mother's Day 2014

Well, I'm sitting here at my computer and for the last several days I've been trying to come up with something significant to write about for Mother's Day. And can I come up with something that ties into gardening? Now, maybe I need to reverse that thinking. I should be thinking about gardening and how can I tie that into Mother's Day....

Well, it got me thinking.... (if I can stay off the computer long enough to do that). . .

Look around at Nature. . . So complete in its entirety. . .

Female (left) and Male (right) Red-breasted Mergansers*

Think of the birds. They know exactly what kind of nest to make and where to make it. Is it on the ground, in a tree, in a nesting box??? Is it made out of mud, sticks, moss, feathers, fur/hair??? 

And how do they know what to feed their babies? Worms, bugs, fruit or berries?

These are natural inherent attributes. How does a bird know this? No one tells them how to do it, they just know. They have internal characteristics that let them know what to do and when to do it.

Same with bugs, snakes, mammals, and all animals. They just know what they need to do to exist.








Same with flowers- how do flowers know how to bloom? They don't even have a brain. They just are living, but they inherently know how to live, exist and do what they are supposed to do- attract a pollinator and produce seeds.

Royal Star Magnolia

As human mothers and fathers, we instinctively know what we need to do to raise our infants and children. They need to be fed, clothed, kept warm, sheltered, nurtured, and protected from harm and other important factors.

Some of us are aunts or uncles, and we're there to help out our families when needed and called upon.

Even if we have not been blessed with children, we also have a responsibility to our families, extended families, and our communities to help in raising children by setting good examples.

We all know what we need to do. . . Just BE!




"The babe at first feeds upon the mother's bosom, but is always on her heart."

~Rudyard Kipling

Happy Mother's Day!

* Red-breasted Mergansers: they are a large diving duck with a long, thin bill. They are found in large lakes, rivers, and the ocean. It prefers salt water more than the other two varieties of mergansers. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

#MothersDay  #Birds  #Nature  #Photography #Robin  #RoyalStarMagnolia  #RedBreastedMerganser 

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Feel free to leave a comment. . .