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

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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