By Terry W. Johnson

A common axiom states that if you want an abundance of wildlife in your backyard, you need to supply food, water and cover.

But the truth is you can provide wildlife with those three elements and still not attract as much wildlife as you thought you would. When this happens, the culprit may be the improper use of pesticides – insecticides, fungicides, herbicides.

Terry W. Johnson

Make no mistake about it, we Georgians love hummingbirds. Each year folks from Woodbine to West Point and Bainbridge to Helen and countless cities and towns in between spend hours enjoying the beauty and aerial acrobatics of the birds that John James Audubon called "glittering fragments of the rainbow."  

By Terry W. Johnson

One of the things I enjoy most about spring is that at this time of year we are treated to Mother Nature's annual parade of wildflowers. This special event actually begins before the official arrival of spring and extends well into May. Like the bands, floats and marchers in a traditional parade, each of our wildflowers appears across the Georgia countryside in an ordered sequence.

By Terry W. Johnson

I can remember years ago that I was surprised to hear a man say, "The only good sweetgum is a dead sweetgum." Although I knew that sweetgum had its detractors, until then I hadn’t realized that some folks passionately hated the tree.

By Terry W. Johnson

I consider the strawberry bush (Euonymous Americana) one our most beautiful native shrubs, and deserving of a place in home landscapes across the state. If you are not familiar with this plant, all it would take is for me to show you one laden with its attractive seed capsules and you would immediately agree with me.

By Terry W. Johnson

There is an amazing array of wildlife that live in our backyards. Beyond a shadow of a doubt the two groups of animals that garner most of our attention are birds and butterflies. However, this is slowly changing as more Georgians are beginning to focus their attention on dragonflies. These people have discovered that dragonflies are every bit as beautiful and fascinating as the headliners of the wildlife show staged daily in their backyards.

By Terry W. Johnson

There are many reasons why we are so fond of the eastern redbud tree. I suspect our affection for this small, native tree is largely based on its beauty and not what I consider to be one of its most endearing features.

Snakes of Georgia

Snakes are common across Georgia, even in urban and suburban areas. As development and population growth continue in Georgia, encounters between humans and snakes will increase.

Snakes are economically beneficial because they eat rats, mice, and other animals deemed to be pests. Some snakes have been used as bioindicators to assess pollutants in terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems.

During fall in Georgia, the evening sky surrounding stack stone chimneys begins to fill with small swiftly moving birds known as chimney swifts. Also known as flying cigars, for their body shape, they are one of the state’s neotropical migratory bird species. Depending almost totally on man-made structures like fireplace chimneys, airshafts or abandoned buildings, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (DNR/WRD) encourages homeowners to provide and maintain proper roosting and nesting habitats for these fascinating little birds.

There are many plants that are both pleasing to the eye and provide songbirds with valuable sources of food long after the flowers themselves have withered and died. Below is a partial list of some plants that are easily grown in Georgia gardens.

Bachelor Button

This hardy plant is related to Georgia's native thistle and normally blooms in midsummer. Like the thistle, goldfinches and one or our states newest residents, the house finch favor bachelor button seeds.