Patio Ponds and Gardens

Bluebirds, Robins and Thrushes eat worms, grubs, and any insects they find in the grass in summer and switch to fruits and berries in winter, so an old orchard, even just a pair of old apple tress is a perfect overwintering area for these fine songbirds.

Robins

The best known songbird in North America, robins live everywhere from vast deep woods to tiny city yards, even rooftop container gardens can shelter a nest of robins if you plant a few trees or bushes in pots or planters.

Robins sing mostly at sunrise and sunset, and their calls are more noticeable in the spring when the males are establishing territories. This is also the time of year when dramatic territorial battles occur with mid air tumbling fights between interlopers and early arrivials. Males especially will attack even their own reflection in a window or a hubcap, and will keep these battles up for hours.

Robins Nests

Their nests are almost as well known as the birds themselves - a small mud lined cup of grass and leaves in the crotch of a tree or bush, with usually three ‘robin’s egg blue’ eggs in Spring.

Eastern Bluebird

Once a common bird, but, now rarely seen, Bluebirds have spectacular contrasting coloration with their blue back and wings, and orange and white underside. Bluebirds are largely evicted from their habitat by European Starlings.

Bluebird Nests

You may still be able to attract bluebirds with birdboxes set low to the ground, open on all sides, and close to a large wooded area, but even this ideal habitat may not work, since it will attract the much more common tree swallows that may also drive off the bluebirds.

Swainson’s Thrush and Hermit Thrush

All the Northern Forest thrushes have the same basic coloration - variable olive to solid brown back and a buff white breast spotted with olive to brown dots. They prefer low swampy ground or moist woodland floors, so the only time you are likely to see them in your garden is during seasonal migrations when they are abundant. But they are easy to identify by their calls - a series of flute-like echoing notes that hang in the air for a few seconds after the call ends.

Thrush Nests

Small mud lined cup like nests of twigs, leaves, and bark anywhere from 2 feet to 20 feet up from the ground.

If you love flowers, trees, birds, and even fish in your yard, but hate the weeding, watering, trimming,and upkeep so many gardens require … Don’t give up. This site will show you the easy ways to keep your trees healthy, your flower beds blooming, your pond sparkling, how to fill your yard with songbirds,and how to make your deck or patio your favorite room of your house.

Avoiding the first mistake

Most garden plans start with the borders and work their way into the beds and plants close to your house. Only after tons of work and sometimes years, do you get to the close in parts that you see daily. Turn that idea around and start with what you enjoy and only gradually get to the the outer beds and borders and you’ll save a lot of time and unnecessary work.

It’s all about scale, and small gardens close in really are more fun and less work. They provide privacy, beauty, and even add to resale value without needing the massive upkeep to discourages many new gardeners.

If you plant only what you like, when you like, and keep the projects small enough to do in only a few minutes per day, in a short while you will have your dream garden.

If you have a bare suburban lot and want privacy immediately, go for a hedge or some trees along the edges, and pay someone else - ( a gardening friend, a garden center, or a commercial landscape service) to put them in and get them started. Meanwhile your time is better spent on the spaces beside your doors windows or paths that you use frequently.

Avoiding the second mistake

Competitive plantsmanship is a killer. This isn’t a battle, and you don’t have anything to prove. Nature provides a huge selection of plants. Grow stuff that grows well for you. The same effort that goes into nursing along one sulky, sickly looking exotic plant that will never look good in your garden will provide a lush and colorfull bed or border chuck full of plants that like what your location offers.

A balance of trees, shrubs, vines, annual, and perennial flowers all growing and flowering at their own pace,will ensure that something always looks good, and will let you relax and not stress about those that don’t look so great.