Neighbours talking over the garden gate has long been a tradition. They share gardening tips, complain about the weather and pests yet are ever eager to discuss their gardens. That is what I had in mind when creating this blog. So stop by my garden gate to find out the latest happenings in my garden.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ~ Madame Marie Curie"

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Birds in the Garden

robin's nest
Robin's Nest
May 26, 2009

It is very important to attract a wide variety of birds to your garden and I have written about attracting birds to our gardens before (here). Ideally at some point you should notice a bird of prey if you are going about attracting birds to your garden in the correct manner. At that point you should give yourself a bit of a pat on the back. What you have accomplished is an ecosystem that if maintained properly will keep your insect, bird and rodent population in a sustainable manner.

Birds of prey like the Sharp Shinned Hawk will discourage scavenger birds and destructive parasite birds such as the Brown Headed Cowbird yet my experience has been they don't tend to bother with the smaller song birds. Parasite birds usually arrive in small to large flocks and will clean out your bird feeders in the matter of seconds. At the same time in the case of the Brown Headed Cowbird they will raid other bird nests destroying the eggs, lay an egg in its place for the original birds to hatch. Birds of prey will also keep rodents in check.

Attracting birds into your garden is as easy as making the area attractive to them. Provide the necessities such as food, water, shelter and nesting areas. The kind of bird seed you use as well as the style of bird feeder will determine the bird species you will attract. Water should be fresh, changed often and at various levels including small ponds, bird baths and hanging bowls of water. Empty bird baths and hanging bowls at night and refill early in the morning to prevent mosquito problems. Shelter should include both birdhouses and vegetation. Check birdhouses often to see they have not be overtaken by parasite birds or wasps. For example the House Sparrow is notorious for taking over Purple Martin houses. Before House Sparrows begin nesting cover the holes on Purple Martin houses then remove the covering when you spot the first Purple Martins. Location of birdhouses will also help prevent them being overtaken by an undesirable species.

Warnings:

If you find a nesting bird or nest with eggs do not go near it or touch it regardless of where it is if it is an active nest! An active nest will cause the mother bird to attack which really does stress the bird. Any human scent from touching the nest will cause the mother to abandon the nest. Keep dogs and cats out of your garden during the day! Both will scare off birds and most cats in particular are rather good at catching newly left the nest birds. During the evening hours dogs and cats can be beneficial in controlling rabbits and squirrels. Do not use fishing line to discourage problematic birds! While this method does work it is inhumane to birds that get tangled up or even just fly into the line. It is harmful to beneficial bats as well so please refrain from using this eco-unfriendly method of controlling pest birds.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Saturday, May 16, 2009

Tulipa tarda


Tulipa tarda
March 26, 2009

The mystery plant has been identified! Thanks so much to those who commented on the previous post as well those who helped through email and Twitter. I appreciate your help very much in identifying this plant.

It is Tulipa tarda a dwarf tulip species. It is a member of the lily family (Liliaceae). These tulips are planted in clumps along with daylilies to protect them from the local rabbit population. Unfortunately, mice and rabbits enjoy munching on tulips! They certainly took their toll on my tulips this year resulting in what I thought were no tulips at all, a marked contrast from last year's tulip display. Our neighbours also complained about their meager tulip display but at least they had a couple. Finally I spotted two very pretty white with pale pink smears, double bloom tulips (to yet be identified) peaking out of a clump of daylilies. These had the familiar tulip stems and leaves. A couple of days later the pretty yellow flowers appeared. The quest was on to discovering what this plant was. I'll discuss how to identify unknown plants in the next post.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Please Help Identify


"Unknown"
March 26, 2009

Please Help Identify: Oh the joys of moving into a home with overgrown gardens and still discovering new plant varieties as we continue our quest to tame the jungle. We have several patches of this unknown plant. I think it is a daylily based on the leaves and flower appearance. The flower is two tone yellow with six petals, 3 on 3 on a single stem. The flower is about 3 inch diameter. It bloomed from approximately March 23 to April 11. I have searched daylily and perennial databases with no luck. If anyone could help me identify this beautiful I would be very grateful.

Update (May 15, 2009): Thank-you Kim for sending me a link where this plant has been classified as: Home › Plants › Ornamental Groups › Bulbous Plants › Liliaceae (Lily Family) › Tulipa (Tulip) › Tulipa sp. (Unidentified Tuliips). My powers of observation must be still in winter mode! This explains the daylily appearance of the leaves but closer inspection the leaf arrangement resembles more of a tulip only thin, long and shiny. The flower petal arrangement resembles more of a daylily than a tulip so the search continues. Thanks to Kim I will narrow down my search to the Tulipa sp. I put the picture on my iPod Touch so I can ask at the nurseries on my next trip and will continue the online search. I will update again as soon as the plant is identified.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009