DIY Bird Bath For the Garden

I have a tiny backyard, yet it's quite surprising how many birds frequent my little oasis.

I bought this tiny fountain and found a small sparrow bathing on the edge in the heat last week. This prompted me to do something.

Finding this great flower pot holder, I thought they would serve as great holders for a bird bath.

I went to the local Good Will and bought this pie plate for next to nothing.

I looked for more decorative plates, but I didn't know if the glaze on some cheaper dish-ware would be ok for the birds (possible chemicals) or tough enough to leave outside. So I kept to glass.  It's deep enough for a bird splash, not too heavy for the holder. Better to recycle and reuse something this easy to find. Placing it up high, if it breaks, ah...it's only a pie plate.

Ideal for a fence, I placed the holder this high:

Birds need good footing and a safe place to bathe. I bought flat stones from the dollar store, washed them and arranged enough to cover the bottom. They are ideal. Heavy enough not to spill out and smooth enough to keep easily clean.

The pie plate offers a ledge where the birds can wiggle dry and where I attached the bath there's ample get away space from any cat. High up for added protection.

Affordable and easy to install.

Level with the fence top, birds can easily hop in.

The sound of my little fountain attracts the birds and thus, I have made my little backyard an oasis for  my feathered friends as well.

Two on each side of my tiny garden and I get tons of visitors drinking and bathing.  One other aspect, if you get tired of keeping it as a bird bath, it can be a great feeding station instead.

What a little heat can do!

This summer's weather has been peculiar. Working in the cooler temps has been absolutely comfortable and I am grateful for this weather trend. However, the plants in containers haven't responded the way they usually do.

Here is my backyard as an example.

The plant material in the ground is unchanged (except for blooming). Yet, within 2 + 1/2 weeks, my containers have burst into a growth spurt. I use granular blood and bone meal when mixing my potting soil before planting and every week a bath of compost tea. All of July and early August it was a slow go. Two weeks of hotter, dryer conditions and presto.

Making most of the heat and enjoying its perks.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Even though this winter has been harsh, I am grateful for it. Looking back, I see the beauty in seasonal change. Winter's bleakness brings forth renewal come spring. Looking at these photos in succession really help to balance the change and the need for the seasons. For without the winter, spring would never reveal such beauty and vibrant colour! It helps me cope with the upcoming forecasted 10cm snow fall we are expecting in the next few days. Ugh!

Yet, the few degrees milder weather today, makes me anxious to get my garden plans ready for spring.  In the autumn I planted several shades of Crocus chrysanthus, or known as Snow Crocus (early flowering variety). I can hardly wait to see how they'll bloom in spring. Given this harsh winter, I hope they will fair alright.

Ok, start planning...what to do next spring....

Limited Space Vertical Gardening

Humber College Urban Homestead Display

At Canada Blooms earlier this year, I got a glimpse of some interesting vertical gardening techniques.  Living walls and stacked containers demonstrated you can still garden even though one might not have a large area to work with.

Lee Valley's Stacking Pots

 Lee Valley has these wonderful stacked containers which I think are ideal for herbs.

Stacking Pots and accessories

Having little pots scattered about would reduce space and increase clutter - this idea lets you get a totem effect. Each stackable pot has 3 exposed planting areas, with a shared centre chamber, ideal for roots to spread and for adequate water retention.

Or how about this Wall Garden method: 

Lee Valley Wall Garden Container

Plant stands are also ideal. I've refurbished a stacked arrangement of sorts from reused items. I found this old plant stand at the end of someones curb, put out for garbage. I took it home, sanded the worst of rust away and spray painted it with rust-proof Tremclad. Functional waste diversion ;) Now it holds some of my herbs.







Even in shade I manage to grow tomatoes. Here I placed my grape tomatoes in a moveable pot (on wheels) to maximize sunny spots (which move through the summer). I also extended the tomato cage with bamboo hoops. Now the tomato stands over 6 feet, and currently over 8 flower batches are in the progress of maturing to fruit in the next few weeks. Yay for vertical growth!

I added more obelisks to my containers and trellises to my garden, in order to achieve more height.

There's a lot of creative ways to maximize space.

Starting Compost...update

In March, I posted how I started compost with this Dual Batch Rolling Composter. It claimed on the directions that within 5-6 weeks, a batch would be ready. It's been a little over 6 weeks now and here are my results:

Given we had a rather warm March, it started out well. The cooler temperatures this April I think have hampered the progress. Yet, overall - I think in a another 2 weeks or so, I'll have workable compost.


The warmth that comes out of here is incredible. I stick my nose in the chamber hole just to smell any off or rotten fumes. I haven't yet smelled any of that, so I know the microbes are breaking it down!

This batch is a mix of kitchen scraps and pruning bits. Hopefully by June I'll have another batch.

Heidi = totally happy!

Stepping Stones - Avoid Trampling

April 4th 2012

I really didn't want my garden to have stepping stones at first. They take up valuable space and right now look like typical concrete squares.  Yet, seeing my garden soil today, I am --SO GLAD-- I decided to do it anyway.  They actually have become a great help.  I have noticed with all the organic material I left overwinter, the soil is fluffy and totally happy. If I didn't have the stepping stones, the soil would not be as workable and I would have trampled over my perennials and overwintering herbs by now.

Garlic chives

Trampling is the gardeners worst enemy and since I have edibles dotted about, plants not yet showing where they reside, I avoid it at much as possible. I've invested in a lot of compost and a good litter layer over winter, my foot traffic would counteract all that effort.

I've planted many herbs, ground covers and perennials that need attention close enough to each stone to help soften their stark concrete edges. I trim herbs and what-not throughout the growing season, at least giving gaps big enough for my foot to touch down.

Soil around my Lysimachia nummularia is so fluffy!

I wish I had more patience and came up with other fun choices of stepping material, like:

• used bricks
• bamboo mats
• pre-cast slabs and stones
• mosaic stepping stone kits
• flagstone

Another benefit of using stepping stones: you can place pots in their spots, when the garden becomes full and less foot traffic is necessary.

I'll take comparative photos in late summer to see how little the stones are visible.

Watering the garden in March

Helleborus x Gold series

I honestly cannot ever recall having to water the garden in March. I looked outside this morning and saw my Helleborus Gold flowers drooping. 

Thankfully, they perked up again.

Mini Narcissus " JetFire "

I'm not sure what to make of this early spring. I enjoy seeing the garden come alive...

Sedum telephium " Autumn Joy "

Blue Scilla

It's so strange having to water my partly shaded garden. Can't imagine how full sunny beds are fairing.


Given the way things are turning out,  I will start mulching and adding more compost to keep up moist levels.

Thankfully there is rain in the forecast later this week.

I figure, the garden is in the usual stage of late April early May already. Wow...

My Brunnera macrophylla " Variegata " has reverting leaves. Wondering if the heat and the strange winter/spring has helped to cause this reversion. 

Life Is Emerging

Blue and White Scilla

The unusual warm weather has put a spring in everyone's step. People are outside, walking, running and enjoying this early gift of spring. It's been really lovely out. However, I can't help but be concerned for fluctuating temps that may come down the pike. Let's hope April's weather is not overly severe. I would hate to see fruit trees bud and a harsh frost kill off tender blooms and other budding shoots.

I planted several bulbs last fall. And I am thrilled, as my neighbours warned me about squirrels digging up all theirs over the years. Most of them are popping up!  I am just not used to the litter layer of leaves and debris I've left. I can see their beneficial use. The earth is quite loose and not compacted from the rain!

In sunnier areas around my neighbourhood I've seen Narcissus (Daffodils) and Crocus already in bloom. It's sooo early! My shadier spot out back is coming along though.

Narcissus " Jetfire Tops "

I figured, the smaller the garden, the smaller the bulb would do the trick. Scilla, Muscari, Species
( "Chrysantha" ) Tulips, and dwarf Narcissus " Jetfire Tops " varieties are mainly multiplying bulbs. Smaller flowers and dwarfer habit, but they increase in number over the years. They won't take too much time to bloom and their foliage won't need to be removed, leaving my perennials to grow in and around them.

I planted them in 3's only because I hope they will multiply in larger batches next season.

Chives

Soon I will be able to cut back and use my chives again. Yay!

Oregano

One bonus of the mild winter is my oregano overwintered and...

Chrysanthemum

 ...my Chrysanthemum.

Here in the greater Toronto Area, it's a hit and miss generally to overwinter Chrysanthemums. So I am grateful.

Strawberry "All Star"

My strawberries have flushed leaves and look twice a large as last year.

Sedum telephium " Autumn Joy "

I was late bringing out some overwintered perennial Sedum "Autumn Joy" from the garage where I stored them. Last October I uprooted and divided them, transplanting into pots too late in the season to get them planted in time for overwintering. I have a garden I tend to and will be planting them there hopefully in a few weeks. Within 3 days of this warm trend, they grew all this pale new growth. I am always so amazed at plants and their will to grow, even in the darkest spots. I'm going to prune them back hard later, I just brought them out to colour up a bit before I do it. I'm just amazed!

Finally I see my roses have started to flush as well.

El Nino, warming trend - whatever it is, I"m going to keep my ear tuned to the weather reports in case winter hits one last blow. Let's hope not.

Starting Compost

I purchased this Dual Batch Tumbling Composter because of its rotational drum and two chambers. My only complaint: it took a bit of time to put together, as there's so many fiddly nuts and bolts and about 20 parts to fit together. Solid build though. Rotates smoothly and lots of air pockets for good aeration and water drainage. I'm happy with it.

The neat design to this composter is it's two chambers. That way, I have two batches to work with and hopefully can harvest my first batch in what the instructions say: 5-6 weeks. I can add less coarse bits to one side to start this spring and add regular compost to the other side. While one side newly composts the other side I can begin to use. That's the theory anyway...  It also has a great lid that is animal proof (hopefully) and it's off the ground. So critters if trying to get on it, will fall off because it rotates easily.

One of my hanging baskets

To start I added some soil from my winter containers. It's spent soil from last years annuals, and to initiate decomposition you need some soil. I also added just a skimming of soil from my garden (it has the microbes to help break down the refuse).

It's best to add materials in layers:

• a brown layer (leaves, soil)

• a wet (kitchen) layer 

• and a green layer in stages.

My brown layer was made up of leaves, some leftover fall annuals (cut up), some perennial die-back and clippings from my rose bush.

The wet layer was made up of coffee grounds, potato peelings...etc. (Never compost dairy, meat, bones and wood ashes).

My green layer was the clippings I cut last week for homemade mulch. 

I've yet to fill the entire left chamber. I added water to get all the soil and material inside slightly moist (not soggy).


I will fill it all up once my other containers have thawed out. They were still frozen. lol 

Now that temperatures are getting warmer and there's plenty of bright spring sunshine, warmth and moisture will begin the process.  Will keep you posted as to how long it will take to get workable compost!

Square Foot Gardening

If you are planning to grow your vegetables in raised beds, try this method: Square Foot Gardening.

I remember watching the PBS program, "Square Foot Gardening" when I was a kid. Learning heaps then.  Now, Mel Bartholomew has revised his book from the 80s, concentrating on companion planting, diversifying plant species, improving soil mixes for minimal watering and avoiding chemical usage (for pest or fertilizers).

Great idea for small spaces, for implementing a no-dig method, it minimizes weeding, and is easier on the back.

Looking back at 2011...Planning for 2012

Last year I had a blank canvas.

Realtor photo

The previous owners had 2 perennials and one rose bush in the corners of the backyard, with grass and patio stones.


They had a dog which tore up most of the grass and yellowed other areas..if you know what I mean.


Since I have limited space, I decided to do away with all the grass, which was easy to do and great to compost.

Added small stepping stones; to walk through garden.

I decided to move some of the patio stones, remove all the grass and develop a garden with limited knowledge of light conditions, soil, roots from trees...etc.




Thankfully, the week I took possession, I was able to divide certain favourite perennials from my previous garden and use them here.

 

Sorry, I washed and hung the air conditioner cover over my chair. At least the perennials were starting to come in nicely.

Because my light conditions were sporadic - I had to dot my veggies in areas where they received more sun.

As the season progressed, I added more containers, filled in areas with some annuals and harvested my herbs and veggies, when ready and thoroughly enjoyed my little garden.

Can't avoid the distortion from the screen, aerial shots from my second story window.

It's been such a stark contrast gardening here from my other ravine lot garden, but I am SO grateful!  No rabbits, no dear, no racoons that come dig up my planted friends. I have freedom (outside of limited light conditions and a few squirrels) to plant whatever I like.

Don't let little spaces burst your bubble of creativity. I can't wait until this years planting season!