birdfeeding

Today is sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a male cardinal and a house finch at the hopper feeder. I've also seen the hummingbird again! :D I think it may be interested in the profusely blooming pink beebalm. I put out water for the birds and also watered a few of the patio plants.

I took the last few plants outside.

EDIT 5/23/23 -- I potted up 4 Serrano peppers and 4 Black Beauty eggplants.

I've seen several sparrows in the forest garden.

EDIT 5/23/23 -- I started pulling weeds around the forest garden.

EDIT 5/23/23 -- I planted the spigellia in the forest garden. This concludes planting of live plants at this time. \o/

EDIT 5/23/23 -- It occurred to me that part of what makes an old-growth forest, and thus a good habitat for woodland wildflowers, is dead wood. So I broke up some rotted log pieces and set them around the spigellia to help hold moisture.

EDIT 5/23/23 -- I watered plants.

I heard a woodpecker drumming on a tree but didn't see it.

EDIT 5/23/23 -- I watered more plants.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yay hummingbird! I'm still awaiting my first sighting. Our nextdoor neighbor once planted gladioli, and we were INUNDATED with hummingbirds. They also did like my bee balm, and also the Mexican sunflowers.

P.

I often plant gladioli. I have three patches this year -- the septic garden (already sprouting), the telephone pole garden (not up yet), and the prairie garden (just planted). I have Mexican zinnias but not Mexican sunflowers. I do have Zuni landrace and Florenza sunflowers planted though.

It's good you've got something for the hummingbirds before the gladioli are ready.

I was surprised to seem them around the Mexican sunflowers. But everything liked those. They are annuals here, and I didn't plant them in subsequent years because the neighbor's cat, going after the butterflies, knocked down several stands of them, and I gave up. Florenza sunflowers are stunning and I should put them on the list.

P.

Most sunflowers are annuals, although I also have sunchokes which are perennials.

I think the Florenzas are coming up okay.

To keep cats off of small seedlings, you can put a basket over them, like a berry crate.

These specific cats didn't care about the seedlings, though I think I'll start saving berry crates, since there is a new draft of wandering cats and who knows what they like. These Mexican sunflower cats knocked down seven-foot-tall plants because there were butterflies at the top.

I've often had squirrels depredate my sunflowers, but never cats before.

P.

Wow, that's ... new. 0_o

Maybe consider sunflowers with very robust stalks? Some are more than an inch thick.

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