Oh! Those do smell great!
Here's a Double Delight I had in Arizona;
I love roses, especially Hybrid Teas!
Posted on 02/12/2005 9:27:14 AM PST by sweetliberty
With Spring just around the corner, at least here in the southeast, it's time to think about spending more time outdoors and making our yards and porches more pleasant places to be. FReepers have such a wide variety of interests and talents, I thought it might be fun and educational to do a thread for bird and garden enthusiasts. I see a fair amount of discussion on some of the threads about gardening and landscaping, but not too much that is specific to gardening for the birds.
I've pretty much always had a bird feeder or two around, and that number has grown since I moved into a place last summer that has a big yard. I have a fair variety of birds and I have begun to think about developing it specifically to attract more species, not only for the enjoyment of watching the birds, but also to control natural pests that are prevalent in this part of the country, without resorting to pesticides. I know that the right combination of flora can discourage certain pests and also attract birds that will help keep the pest population down. I would love to hear from FReepers who are experienced at creating such a balance. I think it would also be fun to have a place to share our experiences as we develop them. I know there's lots of links out there with useful information and I make use of them from time to time, but it's just not the same as having discussions on a forum where we have experts on everything. And I don't know of any place else on the web so animated by wit, along with wisdom, on just about any topic.
That is a LOT of bird seed! How often do you have to replenish it?
I meant to ping you to #351.
No, it wasn't a tea rose. Probably a hybrid though.
We live in rural W. PA, close to WVA and we get a wide variety of birds including: Hummingbirds, hawks, herons, bluebirds, cardinals, gold finches, bluejays, woodpeckers, sparrows (and all manner of little brown and grey birds), geese, ducks, robins, doves, little blue herons, crows (of course), ring-necked pheasants, turkeys, and the occaisional egret. We once had a scarlet tanager that was so red it hurt your eyes to look at it.
I love sitting on the porch and watching the hawks and the crows fight it out over territory. When a hawk shows up the crows will initiate a "come to Jesus meeting" and soon the trees are full of cackling black birds and the dogfight is off and running.
Our dogs take care of the squirrels, rabbits and gophers pretty well and even keep the deer at a respectable distance. my border collie loves rabbit marinated in its own juices for about a week before she eats it, we pretty much keep her outside all summer because she tends to carry a funk about w/ her.
I can't wait for the weather to break so I can get out in the yard, start turning over dirt, and planting stuff. I've been planting fruit trees and want to put some berries in this year also to try and attract some more birds.
thanks for starting this thread! I hope it keeps going.
LOL! I see you have Border Collies, too.
Do your squirrels show up just to hang out in the trees and tease the dogs?
Mine sure do!
Oh! Those do smell great!
Here's a Double Delight I had in Arizona;
I love roses, especially Hybrid Teas!
Sounds great! Every once in a while we get a flock of birds that I think is unusual. For instance, we once had about two dozen blue jays and the same thing happened with blue birds. Really neat!
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Yep. That was the idea. That, and to post neat links and pictures.
I want to thank you again for starting this thread and i hope that it will continue.I love the picture of the blooming Rose in the snow.
We used to live in Colorado,when my hubby was still in the Army,so I know what you mean about the weather .
LOL! The hardest part of planting roses is figuring out how many you can plant, and which ones it will be!
There are only 4 in the rose bed right now. Peace (the original pink/yellow bicolor), Mirandy (dark red), New Day (pale Yellow) and Brigadoon, which starts out as a lavender/dark pink but develops a yellow/white center as the bush gets older.
That's a great picture! It always seems so weird to have a blooming flower covered in snow!
Having spent some time in Colorado myself, I'd have trouble picking between it and Texas for instant freeze-your-patootie-off weather.
I have a website bookmarked that had a wonderful picture selection of Hybrid Teas, but their server must be down. I'll post the link anyway, in case someone wants to check it out later.
Sorry Guys..linky no worky, you'll have to cut and paste. :(
Looks like Dallas has a cold front coming through Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, so I'd go with the long sleeve shirts and maybe a lightweight sweater along with the jacket if you have the room.
Don't know how long he plans to be here, but that should give him a pretty good choice for next week, at least.
Besides, when it comes to Texas weather, there ARE no silly questions. ;)
One year I had a spathyphyllum on the porch all summer and one
evening after I brought it in in the fall hundreds of little clear bugs started coming out of it. A mantis had made a nest in the plant! they were so small and so many! after that I was very careful. The nest looked like a large wad of brown chewing gum on the stem. I have also noticed mantis seem to stay in one area-for instance I had one that inhabited the upper leaves of a sunflower. Every day you could go out and find him there. Its amazing the little habitats we have in our yards.
At the garden show yesterday, I figured out what kind of shrub I will be looking to plant for a border of my sidewalk in the garden. Nandina. I'll plant 4 down each side which will leave enough space in between for some varieties of annuals for color, and texture. I am also going to try some hosta this year.
Anyone plant any of these two plants? Any suggestions. From what I've read and been told, they are pretty easy/hardy to grow, just what I'm looking for:)
I'm wanting to get "some" perinnials, but leave room for annuals for varity, and to change it some each year.
Becky
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