YOU C AN GROW YOUR OWN

YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN
As you know, I sell birdhouses in my online store called All Gone to the Birds. That is one of my favorite things to decorate with. Inside and out. But they also have a purpose, They provide shelter and nesting area for the birds. I also grow and make birdhouses but it’s not for everyone.
I like to grow gourds to make birdhouses out of. The birds love them to nest in. especially the wrens. I don’t grow them every year, because the birdhouses last a while and each time I grow them they’re more than enough for me. I make some as gifts too!
Gourds take a long time to dry, I grow them on my back fence, (and the neighbors too) then I put them in the shed and garage to dry over the winter. I have all my garden decorations in the shed and it’s real crowded, but I just set them on paper, on the shelves with my statues and garden tools. So they can cure over the winter. They say you can leave them on the vines but Indiana gets a lot of snow, so I’ve never attempted that.
In the spring, I scrub them with bleach water, and let them dry in the sun. I cut a hole and clean all the seeds and insides out. Then I paint them and stencil them, or whatever I feel like at the time I like the rub ons too. Most importantly I give them several coats of clear spray to protect them from the weather.
I guess taking about 6 months on a birdhouse isn’t for everyone. But It does give you some unique decorations in your yard and most importantly, the birds love them.
The birdlady

This last picture is of a birdhouse that I made about 3 or 4 years ago, It has been through a lot. The same wren family has nested in it and raised their family every year. For some reason they had made the hole a little larger each year. Last year I took it down and put a new one up , and I left it on the ground intending on taking it to the trash, with the weed pile I was working on creating at the time. When I went back to get it the little wren was checking it out. So I hung it back up thinking that if they used it, I’d leave it there. Maybe it wasn‘t so bad. As a result, It did get used by a small finch this year. It is still hanging to this day.

More Birds to Indiana?

BLUE HERON

Over the years I've noticed a lot of birds you don't normally see very often in Indiana. I'm not sure why they are migrating here, But I'm glad to see them. I love to see new things,but it's nice if other people see them too.

I am always scannig the area for wildlife while we are going somewhere, That's one of the nice things about living in the country.

One of the birds I see more of are the Blue Herons. My husband thought I was nuts the first time I spotted one standing in the middle of a creek by our house. I told him that there was a long legged bird in the creek just standing there, his reaction was yeah right, too much sun for you today, Better lay down and take it easy for a while. Well I guess I can't blame him, We don't have birds like that in Indiana. (Or do we?)

Before too long, I started seeing more of them, after about 5 or 6 sightings by me , he finally caught a glimpse of one. He could no longer say I was crazy.

Blue Heron are rather odd looking birds, and it's hard to believe that they can fly with those long legs and neck, but they do. They fly over my back yard ocasionally now, probably going to one of the ponds on either side of our property. I wish one would come to one of my birdfeeders or birdbaths so I could get a good picture of it. Now I am crazy, Or am I?

birdlady

Great Nature Photos

Hi ALL,

I am sure everyone has figured out by now, that I Love nature photos. This is a great hobby too. Decorating my gardens is something I like to do, as well as my business. although I'm not very good at taking pictures I enjoy it. The photos in this blog are an example of o.k. pictures the ones of my birdhouses and gardens are my favorite photos besides the one I take of my grandchildren. I don't have a good camera But most importantly I'm just not good at taking pictures.
There is a website that I like to visit when I feel the world getting to me. They have wonderful pictures of nature and even offer a free calendar page each month. They are amazing pictures. and they also have nice banners, I have one on my site, allgonetothebirds . Here is another one click on it to check out http://www.thecreatorsfingerprints.com/

New Grandson

Well today I won't be working in the garden. It is my daughters baby shower. I'm almost ready to leave and go celebrate grandchild number 10. He is due October 9th, and is going to be another big one. Toni is getting impatient. I'ts her third baby. My family is my pride and joy. No weeding or sitting in my swing watching the birds at the feeders today.
birdlady

Time to divide

Well it is the end of summer, Most of your plants are done blooming and are drying up. So get out your garden toolsand roll up your sleeves it's time to divide those plants that are getting too large or those plants that you simply want more of. You'll need a sharp shovel, and maybe agood sized sharp knife. taking care to dig far enough away from the plant, so as to not cut into the roots, dig down in at least two places before prying up if it doesn't give easily dig the rest of the way around the plant before pulling it out of the ground some roots go pretty deep. place the plant on news papers and start carefully crumbling the soil away from the root ball, some roots can be seperated by pulling them apart, others will need to be sliced in sections with either the shovel or the knife. hostas and lilies usually will need to be divided with a sharp shovel. Don't worry it wont hurt them. Replant them, water them, and next year they will grow along with the others. Several plants can be done this way.It really helps increase your garden plants or give them to friends and family as special gifts. That is how I recieved some of my plants. After a few hours of dividing plants I'm always ready for a long rest on my swing. I wish I had a hammock to take a nap in, that would be better. ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
birdlady

Salsa Time

Vegtable Garden Time
Today I'm not going to talk about birds, birdhouses or frogs,My tomatoes are waiting for me to do somthing with them. So I have to get up off of my swing, and forget the flowerbeds and make some Salsa. My kids and grandkids like the hot kind. My husband didn't get much last year, so I guess I'll make more this year.
I don't like it at all. But I make it anyway, It's a great way to use the tomatoes and peppers that I get swamped with all at once. My family is worth it too! So I'll hunt out my Ball Blue Book and get to chopping. Nothing can really beat Balls older recipes for a lot of things that are canned. Well gotta run lots to do.
birdlady

Where did the pretty go?

Well it's almost the end of all pretty things big and small in my garden. I't s the time I really don't like. It's time for all of the pretty and colorful plants and flowers to get ready for winter. Soon all that is left will be birdhouses, birdfeeders, and a few windchimes that can handle the cold. My porch will have to be cleared too, because it is not well protected from the weather. A lot of the birds will start gathering to fly south for the winter.

There are a few things still hanging on. But the only things that look promising are the Mums and the Autum Joy, Sedum. There are still a lot of Goldfinches feeding on the Purple conflower seeds and the Black eye Susans. So I'll leave them for a while.

I guess winter's not all that bad. I can work on my website. and I love to sew and we still have work to do on the house. I also make a lot of Christmas gifts, do a lot of baking and Spend time with my family. So I will be O.K. But when springtime comes I'll be ready to get my hands in the dirt again.

Cleaning up the mess
Well it's that time of year again, time to start trimming down all of the dried up plants, For me that's a major task. I have almost as much area in garden space as I do lawn. Clean up takes a long time. especially since I've not been weeding like I should. and all of the mess left from the storm yesterday on top of it all. My garden in the front yard is my biggest and it was harder hit than the others. I had birdhouses on the ground, and a Bunny statue knocked over, and a lot of plants completely flattened to the ground. First, I have to fill the hummingbird feeders because the swinging back and forth has emptyed them and my hummers are getting upset at me. One was looking in the window this morning, and another was zipping around my head when I went out to get the paper. I think they mean business, With that taken care of I grabbed my garden tools and got to work trimming and pulling. After a while I stop and take a break. Looking back as I go through the front door to see that it doesn't really look any better yet, This is really going to take a long time. I can't forget I have caladiums, elephant ears , cala lillies, and glads to dig before frost. they have to come in for the winter because it gets too cold here in Indiana for them, they'll freeze in the ground. I always try to keep my eyes open for good deals on flower bulbs about this time of year too. I would like to get some more Stargazer bulbs, They are my favorite and they don't take very much room at all.
I am supposed to be cutting down on my garden space ,I told my husband that I would little by little, because I am having problems keeping up with it. I'm not getting any younger. But then who is?
Written by birdlady

Fall Storm
Here in Indiana, We have very unpredictable weather. It is never the same from one year to the next. However, today is totally unacceptable.
Today we have the pleasure of experiencing the after effects of Hurricane Ike. As far as we live from the ocean, we shouldn’t have hurricane-associated problems, Right? If we wanted hurricane weather, we would move to the Gulf. We have snow, sometimes a lot of snow from Lake Michigan area. We also have more than our share of tornadoes since we’re right in the very middle of what they call tornado alley. But hurricanes?
My trees and gardens are taking a beating from the wind. My garden swing is hitting the frame so hard it may not make it. I have chased down the trashcans twice; my birdbaths are full of leaves. My hummingbird feeder that was full is now almost empty from swing back and forth so hard.
I hope none of my statues get broken. Our power was out for a while but its back on now. Good thing too we have an electric well pump, pressure tank, as well as everything else, You know No phone, No lights, No air conditioner, No TV. No computer. Well we do have one problem still No Cable!!! Oh No, my father and my husband are going nuts! Out here where we live, if you have no cable you get no picture. Therefore, the kids are playing video games and I am writing all of this on works until I can use my internet, which also runs through cable.
If it was springtime, I would be upset, because the wind is flattening my gardens. But most of my flowerbeds are drying up. My tomatoes and peppers are late this year from too much rain this past spring. (Probably another hurricane)They are probably everywhere I do have some fall plants getting ready to bloom too, but it’s almost time to trim everything down and get ready for winter. I’ll have to check on my birdhouses, most of them are empty now the babies having flown the coop long ago. Again, I’m glad it’s not spring. You may never hear me say that again. I love spring. There’s always next year.
Just for the record this post was a day late getting posted because they just got the cable back on.
Written by;
The birdlady

I REMEMBER PAW PAWS

I Remember PawPaws
One hot day when the air conditioner was on the fritz I was just sitting in mygarden swing.Watching the birds at my feeder and listening to the soothing sounds of the water in my fountaingurgling, I was thinking of when I was a kid, way back when, (so my kids say) , Hot days didn’t seem so hot . In fact I rather enjoyed them, Especially when my sister and I were out of school. We had some memorable, happy, adventures. One being paw paw hunting with my dad. Not pa paw (grandpa) We always knew where he was. Nor is it those little white bearded guys in the woods, Those are gnomes. For those of you many who have never heard of Paw paws, They aren’t a wild animal that we are looking for, but a fruit that used to be found in the woods all over Indiana, as well as other States. They are still around, but not as easily found. Paw paws Mmmmm, now that’s something I haven’t had for a while. They were so good! Not very pretty but real tasty, Everyone has a different take on the flavor, I think they taste like a cross between a banana and custard. We use to love them so much that my sister and I would eat as many as we could before we got back to the car, We never worried about things like washing fruit like you have to today. Such fun!, except once when I didn’t care if I ever seen another Paw Paw in my life, I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
We had a fool proof way of paw paw hunting. We’d send the big guy into the woods first. That way if there was anything in there that growled, snarled, or flat out attacked, Dad,(Our hero) would scare it away. If not my sisters scream would give it the fright of it‘s life. I know it did me. Any way we were in our usual lineup, Dad first, my sister, Then me bringing up the rear. Well nothing eventful happened for a while then I heard a lot of buzzing and my sister complaining about the bees that were sometimes a part of the game.
We always ignored them and left the fruits alone that they had claimed ,they were usually too ripe anyways. Even though my grandma thought they were best when they’re almost black. Any way after avoiding a patch of poison ivy, I looked up in time to see a big swarm of bees coming right at me, from a paw paw my sister had just stepped on, I screamed, (big mistake)But who would have thought they would fly into my mouth too? Bees aren’t very choosy on where to sting a person. I received a total of 102 bee stings according to my Dr. who counted them as he put medicine on them one at a time, Some of them in some very embarrassing areas, but by that time I didn’t care, I couldn’t even count or tell you my name, I was so miserable for days. Needles to say I gave up paw paw hunting. I think I’ll stick to watching the birdfeeders in my garden it’s a lot safer. I’ve heard that the farmers markets and grocery stores may soon be offering paw paws to their customers at a whopping $8 to $10 a pound. Whoa! That’s pricey, Oh well, I guess I’ll have to accept the idea that unless I grow my own, Paw paws to me, will be the forbidden fruit.
Written by Vicki Danford
All Gone to the Birds

Plum Granny Mellons???

PLUM GRANNY MELON'S ?

Today I would like to tell you about a (new)(old), oddity I started growing in my vegetable garden. A real sweet older lady at a church in a small town close to us, gave me these seeds. She said they are called plum granny's. O.K. I couldn't believe I hadn't ever seen one. My family has been avid gardeners for many years. Well my Dad says he can remember that my Mom use to like them, but can't really recall growing them. Well ,I'll try anything once, In fact I like to grow and taste new and unusual things. I was told to plant them like I would cantaloupe. So I did.

Indiana's weather was terrible for gardens this year. My garden was flooded 3 times and the last flooding was followed by higher than usual temperatures. I lost a lot of things that were grown by seed, and everything else was so far behind and not as nice as they should be. I lost all of my yellow Zucchini that my family loves fried. I always grow more than enough of everything so I can pass them out to friends and family. Last year I had so many tomatoes and cucumbers that I took some to the local food pantries also. They were very happy to get them. Well my Plum Granny melons grew o.k. I have a lot of rabbits and raccoons and other creatures that like to help themselves to my garden. Last year I had an owl statue and a wind wheel to scare them off. It didn't work. This year I had to make a fence out of poultry netting. So far, so good.

Any way, the nibbling has been reduced to a minimum. They didn't seem to bother my newest experiment plant The plum Granny to me tastes kind of like a cucumber, cantaloupe mix but not very strong flavored. Those of you ,who like both, will love it. Give it a try. It must be a vigorous grower since it survived this years weather,when most of my plants didn't make it.

You can find the seeds on the Internet, try putting heirloom seeds in the search bar. Then each year you can save the seeds, they are loaded with them.

Do you Remember Grandmas Garden?

My Grandmas Garden
Do you remember helping your grandma work in her garden? I do, When I was very little I used to go stay with her for a few days and we always ended up in the garden. Her flowers were beautiful and I remember she had a garden bench we would rest on. and drink lemonade, while we watched the birds at her feeders. It was so peaceful. I think most of my interest in gardening, I owe to my grandmother. I wish she could see my gardens. There are so many different flowers and decorations today, She would love them. Along with my memories of grandma and her garden, I remember my grandpa planting a snowball bush. It was beautiful. He took good care of it and was so proud . I must admit I have never seen one quite as nice as his. I often wonder what the present occupants would say if I knocked on their door and asked for a start of it. Maybe one of these days,I'll be brave enough to find out.
written by Birdlady

full blown suprise lily

These lillies are about 4-5 days old and have been planted in this garden about 5 years now.
It is another garden of mine that I just threw together when we moved, about 5 years ago. With renovating the house and moving in I didn't have any time to plan things out or garden decor.
The plants were just spread out, and upright lily bulbs plopped in the bare spots, and it turned out great. I put an arbor at the entrance, and stepping stones down the center. I also have two birdbaths in it, 2 reg birdfeeders, 1 finch feeder, 1 hummingbird feeder, and several statues and birdhouses. The birds love it!
This garden is huge and runs across my whole front yard. It's a lot of work, but when I look out my front window. All I see are flowers,birds and butterflies, I think it's worth it. My husband looks at it as less grass to cut.
The nice thing about the suprise lily or Magic lily is that they get so full at the top but dont take a lot of space. To anyone who needs a plant that is easy to grw anywhere and don't want a lot of hassle, I recomend these lillies highly.
Written by the birdlady (Vicki Danford)

More on the suprise Lillie's. They grow rapidly, to about 2-3 feet in just a few days, I have them planted next to my swing in a long row behind my ornamental plum trees that have some of my birdhouses in them. They look nice with their

pink blooms against the purple colored leaves of the plum trees. Actually each bunch of lillies have a Peony bush between them, But you can't tell because the peonnies dried up long ago. That's my way of optimising my planting space.

This is second day growth!

They get thicker as they get older, They bloom several flowers to a stalk. but dry up fast each flower a little later than the other as a new bud opens. In case you're wondering these are not the same ones. This is one of my hosta beds.The suprise lily doesn't have to have full sun,So I plant them everywhere. My gardens are all planted so they have continuous blooms. 100's of bulbs planted a day or two apart, in bunches. There are around 100 to 120 suprise lillies alone. Like I said earlier I love lillies.

It's a lot of work but I love gardening. I love to decorate my gardens, That's why I started my own website. All Gone to the Birds. I could never find birdfeeders that I liked And could afford. Statues were even harder to find within my budget. Now I can get anything I want to decorate with. More on the suprise lillies tomorow.....

suprise lillies at my birfeeders

Hi,
Vicki here again, to talk about a unique lily that I have growing all over my yard. I know you've seen them, They aren't unique because they are rare but because they pop up so fast. They have many different names, Suprise Lily, Spider lily, and some people call them August Lily, Well here in Indiana they rarely wait until August to bloom, So I call them suprise lillies. I love the patch around my hummingbird feeder.

They start as big bulbs,and I do mean big, about as big as your fist if grown separately, and that's a big if because they spread and clump together fairly fast for lillies, I wish my orientals did it that fast. anyways they are the first to come up in the spring, and look like daylillies as far as

the greenery goes except they are a little darker and have round tipped leaves, They don.t bloom now, you have to be patient, The greenery dies,leaveit til it dries up,thats what feeds the bulb.I suggest puting a statue behind it or maybe a garden sign, So you don't foget where it is and plant somthing else there,a good month or more later,You'll forget about it and then bang, overnight it will popup, Suprise! That's why I prefer that name. Check out the picture. These weren't here the day before! Now that.s fast. More tomorow.......