My Gardening Blog

Hummingbirds are found all through the Americas including the Caribbean. Recognized for their hovering ability and their skill at flying backwards, hummingbirds hover by rapidly flapping their wings at speeds as fast as 80 times a second.

The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world at only two inches in length and 1.8 grams. The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird at around eight inches long and weighing about 25 grams. Hummingbirds have the fastest metabolism of all birds and to sustain this they have to eat in excess of their own weight in food every day. To do this they have to visit five hundred or more flowers every day to collect the nectar. They possess extended tongues and bills to reach deep into blooms. They can decrease their metabolisms when still, unlike the majority of other high metabolism animals. This extends their lifespan, which may be up to sixteen years.

Making A Hummingbird Friendly Garden

To attract hummingbirds to your garden you could plant brightly colored flowers and shrubs. Hummingbirds have very little sense of smell but they are drawn to bright colours. Placing a hummingbird feeder in your garden or on your deck will attract these lovely birds. Annuals to plant include beard tongue, salvia, petunia, jewelweed, jacobinia, impatiens, and firespike. Perennials you could plant include foxglove, hosta, hummingbird mint, lupine, yucca, cardinal flower, bee balm, canna and columbine. For trees and bushes pick weigela, mimosa, red buckeye, buddleia, lantana and acanthus.

Do not use any insecticides in your garden as you will destroy bugs and insects that hummingbirds eat. They will also leave deposits on the flowers which the hummingbirds may consume. Also supply a lot of places to rest as hummingbirds will spend about eighty percent of their time resting on clothes lines, twigs etc. Supply plants that will provide materials for nesting to be a focus for the females. Hummingbirds favor downy nesting material from trees like eucalyptus and willow and from lichens and mosses.

Hanging brilliantly colored, speciality feeders in your backyard will create a center of attention for the hummingbirds. A good idea is to attach red ribbons that will blow all around the feeder. It is also beneficial to provide feeders at assorted heights as hummingbird species all have distinctive preferences. Species that favor plants that are low growing will go to a feeder positioned lower whereas species that feed on taller shrubs and plants will prefer to go to a feeder placed higher. Hummingbirds are also extremely territorial and a single hummingbird could guard a single feeder and stop other birds from approaching. Put a minimum of three feeders at different heights all around your garden.

Hummingbirds love to bathe in the mist on leaves so you might put a mister close to some broadleaved shrubbery to supply them with a bathing place.

Making Hummingbird Nectar

Make a sweet nectar by blending together a measure of sugar with 4 cups of water that has been boiled. Cool down then store in the refrigerator. Nectar that is unused can safely be kept for up to 7 days. Scrupulously clean hummingbird feeders weekly by rinsing with a mixture of 1 cup of vinegar in 4 cups of water and then washing out with clean water. Fill up with the sugar solution and suspend in a in the shade. Do not use synthetic sweeteners or food colouring. Also don’t use honey as it may ferment and be the source of a a fungus that can poison the hummingbirds. Change the nectar solution in your feeder at least every three days or more often when the weather is hotter.

Conclusion

It’s easy to make a garden to appeal to these attractive birds. Provide them with the food they like and a secure setting and hummingbirds will pay a visit your garden often.

See more garden craft ideas at Easy Craft Ideas

If your lawn is not looking as green as you wish it might be time to consider some different lawn treatments including herbicide spraying and ensuring that you apply fertilizer regularly.

Lawn Fertilizer

We don’t recommend using fertilizer that has an excessive level of nitrogen as this may cause the grass growing faster but with a poor root structure. A better fertilizer will have the correct ratio between potassium,phosphorus and nitrogen and promote the grass to grow strong, long roots. Organic lawn fertilizers slowly release nutrients into the soil, don’t result in over application which leads to brown spots and gives continuing release of all the essential nutrients which is a great deal healthier for your lawn.

It isn’t a good idea to use weed control chemicals at random all over the lawn as this merely adds chemicals to the environment and is pointless. Buy a weed killer that is labeled as safe to use on lawns and use it as a spot weed killer only. Use a pump spray and aim for the weeds, not spraying around all over the lawn. In March or April it is an excellent to apply insect and fungus control products.

Grub worms (the larvae of June bugs) might be a nuisance in some areas and may cause brown spots to appear on your lawn. They can be dealt with easily by using a granular insecticide that is applied to the lawn and watered in. They can be prevented by using insecticide earlier on in the year.

A green and healthy lawn will be able to endure infestations of bugs a good deal better than a thin, unhealthy lawn! Keep to these lawn tips for a healthy lawn you are proud of.

It’s always entertaining for you and your family to assemble together and unwind in the open on warm summer evenings but what can you do in the fall or spring when nights are chilly but you still desire to be outside? You could put up a garden fireplace but this can be quite a considerable undertaking and you can’t take it with you if you move. One solution could be to use an outdoor fire pit. Fire pits bring about the look and warmth of a campfire to your terrace or backyard but in a very controlled and protected way. Also a lot of fire pits are portable, so you can take them on trips or if you move house, or move them around on your terrace or garden to a more fitting location.

Fire Pit Designs and Styles

Fire pits are available in a selection of distinct styles including table top, chimney style, camping rings or fire bowl design fire pits. Also they come in a mixture of sizes from about 25 inches in diameter, intermediate up to 40 inches, and especially large up to 50 inches which are just about as large as a patio table! Of course your budget and the area where you are going to situate your fire pit will determine which size you should purchase. Inexpensive fire pits for around $99 are to be had but they may not last for any length of time, two or three seasons at the most. Metal in these economical models tends to be thin and liable to rusting and many screens are not very well-built and can collapse. At the other extreme there are fire pits powered by gas from about $500 to more than $2500 which will last you for many years.

Firepit Accessories

Over and above your outdoor fire pit you may also want to buy a few accessories. Generally fire pits are supplied with a screen to stop sparks from being a danger but they regularly become twisted and broken through use. Another accessory that is functional is a grill so you can cook on your fire pit! If you are going to leave it in the open air then you really must have a fire pit cover to shelter it from the elements. Some additionally come with tables.

Firepit Safety

Always understand the manufacturers advice before you use your fire pit. It is not a good proposal to use an outside fire pit on a wood deck, a cement or tile floor or outside on the ground is much safer. You should also make sure you don’t use it near to anything that is flammable such as fences, trees or other wooden objects. Piles of dry grass or other dry plant material is also inflammable so be cautious if you have recently mowed the lawn!

Fire Pit Portability

When you come to a decision on the type of outdoor fire pit to get think about if you want it to be portable. Some of the gas fire pits are weighty and not really simple to move. Smaller, lighter fire pits can be moved around or taken with you to the beach or on camping trips