Hi everybody it's Joe Lample the Joe behind Joe Gardner and welcome to the

Joe Gardner show at the time of this recording we're in the back half of June

the garden is thriving and the birds are too I love their company all throughout the day, especially very early in the morning.

I sit with my cup of coffee on the back porch while I wait for the first Cardinals of the day to make themselves heard.

They're always first, but followed quickly by Eastern Tohees and of course the Carolina

Wrens, such a cheery chorus and the perfect way to start the morning. I'm sure I am not alone and the pleasure

that I get from our backyard songbirds. So naturally I want to do everything I can to promote a safe

and inviting space for them just like I do for all the beneficial wildlife here.

And I know that many of you are the same way.

And part of my ongoing efforts to stay in the know and continue to improve on my practices

here at my garden and native habitat is a lot of

reading which led me to our podcast guest today Jen McGinnis she's the author of a

recently released book bird-friendly, guidance and projects for supporting birds in your landscape.

Jen is an award-winning journalist, author, photographer, and a lifelong gardener,

so she gets the special connection gardeners have to birds.

In today's conversation we touch on a little bit of a lot of bird-friendly

gardening topics and I think you will enjoy it.

And as we get started, thanks to our sponsors for today's episode,

Proven Winner's Color Choice, Earth's ally, and Dram.

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And that's no coincidence. Proven winter's color choice plants offer a wide selection of evergreens, hydranges, and roses,

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