Bringing in the Birds

My garden expands and changes each season, as most people’s probably do. It began as a small flower bed at the end of the sidewalk. It was about three feet in diameter. The next year,  I extended it down the sidewalk, changed its shape, and added a border. Then, the third year, I decided to triple the area the garden occupied, and the year after that, we added a small pond and expanded the planting area yet again.

This year, rather than digging up more grass, we began adding structures. I had a hummingbird feeder sitting on a shelf in the house (where no bird would ever find it!) and bought a bird feeder on clearance last winter, so one of the structures had to be something to hang two feeders from.

Using old tent poles, I made a structure for a vine to climb and the bird feeders to hang.

The first feeder, freshly filled.

The first feeder, freshly filled.

The structure went up in March, and I filled one feeder with seed, and watched for birds. A week later, the feeder was still completely full. Two weeks later, no seeds were gone. The third week, I said, “LOOK! Some seeds are gone!” My dad admitted to shaking some out for the chickens.

A month. Two months! It got to the point that I’d just shake my head every time I saw the feeder and feel bad about the money I spent on it and the bird seed. (Not much, but it was so disappointing!)

Then, one day, I saw a cardinal at the bird feeder. Within a week, two inches of bird food were gone. On the day I filled the bird feeder with seeds for the second time, I also filled the hummingbird feeder. It took a little while for the hummingbirds to find it, but I see them occasionally.

birdfeeders, field 6:18:14

There are more birds in my yard now than there have been in the eight years we have lived here. I’ve seen bluebirds, mockingbirds, robins, hummingbirds, LOTS of cardinals, and a few days ago, two tiny, bright, gorgeous gold finches. The bird feeder empties regularly, and birds sit on top of my grape arbor most of the time. I suspect they bathe in the pond but haven’t spotted them at it yet!

Birdsong is cheerful. The birds themselves are beautiful. Having them in the garden makes me happy. If you don’t have as many birds as you’d like, try putting out a feeder. Then, wait patiently!

Vertical Gardening: Up. Up. Up

There are lots of reasons to try vertical gardening. The most frequently mentioned is space, but even if you have plenty of room you might want to try it for aesthetic reasons. A vertical garden creates an attractive screen, a focal point similar to a painting on a wall, or shade.

Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to vertical gardening. One of the first times I encountered it was in reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. As the title suggests, space was the main concern in that book. Bartholomew lays out instructions for growing a number of vegetable garden crops vertically, including watermelon! He uses nets for the melons.

Some plants must be grown vertically for best results. Peas, cucumbers, some varieties of beans, and plenty of other vegetables — not to mention the many types of climbing roses —  require poles, stakes, or trellises. Our fence row is decorated with gorgeous (if invasive) morning glories every fall.

My own current efforts at vertical gardening include a grape arbor:

grape arborsome peas on an old cast iron gate (the pea plants are still tiny):

pea trellisand a structure for a sweet autumn clematis that appeared magically growing up a tree in my front yard last year (I haven’t moved the plant yet — just put together the structure):

clematis trellisBesides an indulgence of my unpredictable whims, all of these vertical structures are simply to provide interest in the garden. I worry about having too many plants that are roughly the same height — or the same color, or that bloom at the same time. (Sigh. The complications of haphazard gardening.)

Belle uses succulents in a really interesting vertical structure. The wooden structure creates a frame, and the succulents are a variety of color and texture. The whole thing looks like a work of art.

Regardless of how much space you have, you may want to try your hand at growing some plants up and up. The most important thing is to make sure your structure is sturdy enough to withstand the pull and tug of your plants. Before we built the grape arbor, our grape vines pulled down the flimsy gate they were growing on.