Home & Garden

Practitioners of the New Perennial Movement do not, typically, insist on the use of locally native plants in their landscapes. Indeed, especially in Great Britain, this school has popularized the concept of “novel ecosystems.” 

Today we can capture the multiple nuances of color in nature on camera. Not so in previous centuries when many scientists who were trying to organize and delineate the natural world needed to be artists as well … capturing the differences in colors by using paints, in particular watercolors.

If you believe there were more interactions between humans and black bears in the fall, you're right, said Laura Simon, an urban wildlife ecologist, who told columnist Thomas Christopher that encounters with bears can be both peaceful and avoided.

This week, Thom Smith answers readers' questions about skunks, porcupines, woodchucks and woodpeckers.

Perhaps with the odd weather we’ve had all fall and into the winter, the blackbird has not felt the urge to fly south with his colleagues. Since 1967, blackbirds have appeared on more than half of the Central Berkshire Christmas Counts, mostly with numbers in the single digits, but with a banner year of 132 individuals in 1998.

This week, columnist Thom Smith shares his "wire trick" to keep sparrows out of boxes intended for bluebirds and the simplest bird feeder design he knows of. 

If you're keeping track of birds in your yard this winter, columnist Thom Smith says you shouldn't have any trouble spotting juncos. 

Thomas Christopher writes: "Last spring, we planted our own little orchard of 20 dwarf cider apples. We are DIYers, but we also believe in doing it right."

Thom Smith is busy feeding the birds in his backyard, but not too busy to answer readers' questions about the birds.