Part of the joy of having a garden is watching the wildlife that comes to call. Bird feeders are a great way to attract birds to a specific spot and supplement the native foods and habitat in your yard. For those of us that have plenty of squirrels in the yard, it can be frustrating to see them empty the feeders just about as quickly as you can fill them. Some bird feeders have built-in features to prevent squirrels from reaching the … [Read more...]
How to Reduce the Number of Mosquitoes in Your Garden
Mosquito Prevention and Standing Water Removing any standing water from your yard can help reduce the chances of mosquitoes breeding in your yard. It's an important step to take in mosquito control. With West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, it’s nothing to take lightly. Where Can Standing Water Be Found In Your Yard Even a small puddle can be used by mosquitoes, so check carefully inside of everyday items. Things to check for … [Read more...]
Philadelphia Fleabane – Erigeron philadelphicus
Philadelphia fleabane is a native Mississippi wildflower in the sunflower family (Asteracea) and it looks just like a small feathery daisy or aster. I found these plants growing at the edge of one of the flower beds (that hasn’t been weeded in a while). Fleabane can be found growing throughout much of the United States and Canada. This wildflower is biennial or perennial and grows to be a couple of feet tall with multiple flowers. It prefers … [Read more...]
How to Support Leaning Plants and Flowers – Curved Garden Stakes
The irises were gorgeous this March and April with many yellow flowers blooming in the front yard along a stone path. One good thunderstorm came through and flattened most of the flower stalks. Now we were stepping over the blooms to avoid crushing any future flowers. Needless to say this didn’t work very well. Luckily, I remembered that I had purchased some stakes last year just for this purpose. I hooked them together to form a wall in front … [Read more...]
Garden Pest: Eastern Lubber Grasshopper
Aren’t they cute? Don’t let their small size and cuteness fool you. These tiny little insects will grow up to be 3 inches long, with a voracious appetite. The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, or Texas grasshopper, is a flightless insect that can become locally heavily populated. We had them in our yard last year - it seemed like they were everywhere we looked. And let me tell you, these things can eat a lot. They had preferences for certain … [Read more...]
Best Hummingbird Feeder: Review of Four Types of Feeders
Watching hummingbirds is one of my favorite past times. Not only do we have a lot of plants that the birds can feed from, but we also hang up several feeders. There are many different types of hummingbird feeders available. The best ones are easy to clean, easy to fill, and are sturdy enough to last several years. I have reviewed four popular feeders, providing the pros and cons of each. I have owned and used each of these feeders for four … [Read more...]
How To Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are so much fun to watch. Their mid-air acrobatics and daredevil combat flying can be very entertaining. We have planted the front yard to include many flowering plants that hummingbirds and butterflies can feed from. We also put up several feeders in the yard and have a bird bath as a water source. Hummingbirds spend many months in the Southeast. In Mississippi, we can expect them in early to mid-March and some may … [Read more...]
Self-Watering Planter Box: Why I Love My Terrazza Planters
ORIGINAL POST: 4/22/13 In the hot dry conditions of a Mississippi summer, vegetables and flowers in a planter or raised bed will wilt and require you to water them every couple of days. With a garden the size of ours, that's a lot of time dragging a hose around. The solution I found was a self-watering raised bed. This content includes affiliate links. I get a small percentage of the sale for purchases made through links in this post. … [Read more...]
How To Grow Tomatoes
Tomatoes are some of the simplest vegetables to grow. Ok, technically it's a fruit, but let's just call it a vegetable for now. I recommend starting tomatoes from plants purchased from your local garden store. While you can start tomatoes from seeds, unless you have a good grow light system set up or a greenhouse, you'll get pretty wimpy looking seedlings. You'll get tomatoes from store plants faster than from plants grown from seeds anyway … [Read more...]
A Visit to the Butterfly Conservatory
I recently visited the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservancy. It is the best butterfly garden I have visited – and I’ve been to quite a few. The butterfly house was stocked full of flowering plants, a large variety of butterfly species (around 50 or 60), and even some really cool tropical birds. [one-half-first] Blue Morpho Butterflies Tiger Longwing Butterfly [/one-half-first] [one-half] Zebra Longwing … [Read more...]