Hello all!! This is Christy (and Barry) from Christy's wildlife Cottage Garden. This is my first attempt at blogging and I am very excited to be a guest on Tina's blog.Tina featured our garden on her blog last week. Along with our love of gardening is our love of wildlife. That's why we certified our property as a Wildlife Habitat through the American Wildlife Federation. To become certified you must provide water, food, shelter and a place to raise young. We have fenced in about 2 acres and this is where we have our gardens. However our property also has woods and a small pasture. We have 12 sitting areas so we can relax and enjoy watching the wildlife.
We have 4 birdbaths. During the winter we keep one heated so the birds will always have water.
Butterflies also like a drink of water now and then. During the months when butterflies are present we fill this saucer with small gravel, then fill it with water. The butterflies land on the gravel and get a drink!
We feed the birds year round. We have identified over 2 dozen types of birds living or visiting our property. These feeders contain sunflower seeds. Let a few seeds drop on the ground and you'll also have some beautiful sunflowers growing!
This feeder contains meal worms for the bluebirds and mockingbirds.
We put unsalted peanuts in this feeder. The bluejays love them!!
This upturned pitchfork makes a great holder for apples. Another mockingbird favorite!!
Suet feeders attract quite a few types of birds including woodpeckers.
I always leave a few dried seed heads for the birds to enjoy.
We have many bird houses around the property. They differ in size to attract different types of birds. This is a favorite of the bluebirds, but we just happen to catch a dove couple sitting near it!
There have been many babies born here!
This honeysuckle is right next to the patio. It is a favorite shelter for the birds. We also had many nests built in it including several mockingbird nests. They don't seem to mind that we are so close to them.
Our Redtip Photinas are another favorite shelter. We can sit and hear the birds chattering from inside these bushes.
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
You have a beautiful garden, thank you for sharing it with us. Btw, what do you do to deter the squirrels from raiding your feeders?
ReplyDeleteLots of good information here Christy! What a good capture of the dove! It underscores the fact that your garden is a wildlife habitat. I know if I was a bird I'd want to live in your garden-so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI can see why the birds and other wildlife must flock to your garden--lots of great ideas to keep our feathered friends happy and well-fed. Thanks for sharing your lovely garden with us, Christy.
ReplyDeleteFor your first blog post Christy, you did a fantastic job, with photos and information. Your gardens are oh so lovely and peaceful for all.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
good job!!..now get skeeter to show you haw to make those pictures more dramatic by enlarging them a bit...Lighting really helps....go to my blog and see the people whos blogs I admire (15 of them)there are a list of 15 and you will see what make a great blog..I learn early on the I was taking pictures from too far away...anyway thanks for sharing..I loved the commentary
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of apples on an upended pitchfork! Thanks so much for sharing your garden and your tips with us.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Blog world Christy! Great job on your first posting. One of which I hope to be many more to come.
ReplyDeleteThe birds must love your gardens with all you provide. We have lots of birds in our garden as well so I know the enjoyment you get from them.
Cant wait to see more of your beautiful gardens...
Welcome to the blog world Christy.. You did a great job. I really enjoyed the tour of your garden via Tina. You do have a lot to offer. I really liked it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post. I love the idea of designing and planting a landscape for wildlife. You did good!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of nice additions for the wildlife. I need to try the tray of rocks for the butterflies.
ReplyDeleteHope to see more of your garden.
I like all the features for the critters. Such a nice touch to any garden, especially one with reverence for wildlife.
ReplyDeleteI imagine you have all sorts of great birds all winter long! I love watching the birds. Welcome to the blogging world.
ReplyDeleteWelcome and I enjoyed hearing about your wildlife...I also garden for wildlife...it makes t so much more fun!
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