Growing Chinese vegetables in your own backyard

If you cook in the Asian style, you might want to grow pak choy, winter melon and snow peas in your garden.

A classic book by Geri Harrington has been reissued. "Growing Chinese Vegetables in your Own Backyard" (Storey, $16.95) should help you figure out how to grow and use 40 vegetables and herbs.

The author even deals with water gardens, if you're thinking about water chestnuts and Chinese lotus.

And where else could you find directions for harvesting sesame seeds?

This hobby could become addictive

Did you know that hummingbirds like to see red? In fact, it is recommended you hang red ribbons near your feeder to attract them.

Several companies offer products designed to draw these popular birds to your yard.

Songbird Essentials, songbirdessentials.com, introduced a nesting material called Hummingbird Helper in a red wire frame, and sells other accessories.

Keeping the feeder clean and the nectar refreshed is critical. Spoiled solutions can turn to alcohol and support mold, both of which are harmful to the tiny birds. In cool weather, fluid can be left for five to seven days, but during hot spells it should be replaced every two days.

Birds are most likely to come eat in early morning and the last hour of dusk - a great thing for birders who are away from home working long hours. And they especially need food before and after migrations in the spring and late summer or fall.

Songbird Essentials lists the locations of retail stores on its Web site.

Another company called Homestead, which is a division of Gardener Equipment Co., sells this feeder called Nectar Gem.

It is designed to attract the birds and will prevent mold and fermenting, the company says.

Nectargem.com sells two feeders and nectar mix for $13. It also should be available at area pet and bird supply stores and some hardware stores.

Web sites where you can learn more about hummers include hummingbirds.net and hummingbirdsociety.org.

Don't forget, water your jigsaw puzzle

Here's a fun idea for your home and your garden.

An Itasca company called TDC Games has introduced four 500-piece jigsaw puzzles that you plant after you put them together. That's because they are embedded with wildflower seeds.

Green Pieces are available at toy, gift, book and department stores. The suggested retail is $16, but you might find them for a little less.

The puzzle themes are ecological, too. For example, this American eagle picture is made up of 3,500 aluminum cans - the number discarded in our country every second.

Visit tdcgames.com.