Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
Gardening with wildlife and creating wildlife habitat in your backyard or garden can bring you a lot of joy. I love to watch the birds, butterflies, frogs, lizards, bees, and small mammals visit my garden, even if it means I sometimes lose a few plants. These articles talk about how to create backyard habitat, what plants can help wildlife in your garden, and even talks about some of the critters you might see in your garden.
One of the greatest joys I get out of my garden is watching the insects and wildlife that is attracted to the flowers and plants. I know that some of my plants will be consumed by these critters, but I’m willing to share. This week, I stumbled across this little black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) munching in my carrot patch. These …
Continue Reading about How to Attract and Feed Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterflies
Summer is the time of the year that you’ll see the bright yellow flowers of partridge pea blooming along the side of the road or along streams and ditches. They will continue to flower from late summer to early fall. Creates Food for Pollinators & Wildlife This little plant packs a mighty punch when it comes to benefiting …
Continue Reading about Partridge Pea: Butterfly Host Plant & Pollinator Plant
As I was heading out to work this morning, I looked up at the large pecan tree in the backyard and saw both the male and female wood duck who have been hanging around our yard for a few weeks. The male was flying off and the female was flying into a cavity in one of the large branches of the tree. This large branch has a nice cavity in it, perfect …
The first hummingbirds start showing up in southern Texas, Louisiana, and northern Florida in late February and the first week of March. Hummingbirds will arrive in my garden around mid to late March - at the same time as the red buckeyes are in full bloom. This is when I’ll hang my hummingbird feeders in my garden. How to Know When to Hang …
Continue Reading about When Do You Put Out Your Hummingbird Feeders in Spring
Winter in Mississippi is notoriously interesting. Some days we have really cold weather and then 24 hours later, the temperature changes by 20 degrees. This was the case this year. In the previous weeks, we had lows in the 20's and highs in the 30's. It was downright cold for us southerners. Then Christmas week rolls around and our temperatures …
Continue Reading about Warm December Temps Bring Out the Bees
You know the struggle. You find the perfect place for your hummingbird feeder, you know the one, right outside the kitchen window, and the next time you look, there are ants on, in, and around your hummingbird feeder. Once they are inside the feeder, they will die and cause mold and fungus to grow in the food. It's not healthy for the birds and …
Continue Reading about How to Keep Ants Out of Your Hummingbird Feeder
