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The red-shafted flicker woodpecker in my garden.

Now that the temperatures are starting to drop and a lot of the work has come to a hault in my garden, I’ve turned my attention to attracting feathered critters into my landscape with the use of bird feeders.  Birdwatching may sound mundane and boring but once you start attracting birds into your cold weather garden it is far from dull and is often called a free ticket to the theater of nature.  Once you add fresh water and some bird seed you are guaranteed to always have a show. 

With the cooling temperatures birds need an extra addition of fat to help them survive so adding suet cakes is an important accompaniment to their fall and winter diet.  I am  so happy to have the ilusive red-shafted flicker woodpecker (shown above) frequently visit my garden since I’ve set out out the fatty suet cakes and bird seed.   If you’re not one to use animal products (most suet is beef kidney fat) you can easily make a big batch of vegetarian suet cakes and store them in the freezer for future use.  I found an easy recipe at www.suetbirdfeeder.net:

Wintertime Vegan “Suet”
The birds won’t miss the meat and your kitties will love to watch the action!

2 cups peanut butter
2 cups vegetable shortening
2 cups flour
6 cups cornmeal

Melt peanut butter and shortening in a large pot.
Stir in flour and cornmeal.
Turn dough onto a waxed paper lined 13×9″ pan.
Cut into rectangles for use in a suet feeder.
Suet can be stored in a freezer.

Here’s another easy project that I’m going to try soon.  All you need is a toilet paper roll, some peanut butter and bird seed!  Easy right? I’m sure the birds will love it.

Have you heard of peanut butter bird seed balls?  I made a bunch last year and they were gone in no time.  Hopefully I kept a lot of birds alive with all the fat I fed them! Click on the image for the Bird Seed Balls recipe…

 I hope these recipes and tips have inspired you to attract birds to your fall and winter garden.  What birds to you attract to your yard in the colder  months? I’d love to hear from you and even see photos.  You can share them with over on my Facebook page or via Twitter.  Tweet tweet!

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Happy Friday everyone! 

The weekend has arrived and a lot of us gardeners look forward to playing in the dirt,  harvesting produce, dead heading plants, planning new projects and focusing as much time as we can being and living in our gardens.  Although some view tending to the garden as work, I view it as cheap therapy.  There’s something about the smell of a tomato plant, herbs, and even the soil that can lower my heart rate and lift my spirits.  With that it mind, let’s take a walk through my garden, the Dirt & Martinis little patch of heaven.

Welcome to my garden…

 I have a few butterfly bushes and lots of bergamot!  The bees and hummingbirds love it….

Here’s some Russian sage, more bergamot in the background and I don’t know what the red flower is, do you?  My garden is also full of rocks.  I heart rocks…

Along the way I have nasturtium, basil, dill and cilantro growing in pots.  Here’s some I have planted in an old toolbox… 

I’m fond of succulents, hummingbirds and, yes, there’s more bergamot…

All throughout my garden I have mystery plants popping up.  I think this may be a pumpkin that appeared one day from underneath the flowers. 

Here’s some echinacea.  I find the colors of this flower mesmerizing and I think the bees do too…

 

I do have lots of flowers, but I assure you I have some edibles growing too.  Here’s one that is both edible and ornamental, a daylily…

 In my veggie garden I have shallots ‘saffron’ from Annie’s Annuals…

Here are Kentucky blue pole beans growing up an old ladder… 

There’s more veggies in my garden to show you but it’s time relax with something icy….

  I hope you make time to eat, drink, and play in the dirt this weekend garden friends!  Stay cool and thanks for joining me on a short tour of the Dirt & Martinis garden!

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Wouldn’t you agree that gardens are enhanced with the addition of birds?  When you set a birdbath, hummingbird feeder, birdhouses or seed you are guaranteed to get a variety of birds all throughout the year.  Where I live the winters are LONG.  Let’s just say the last of the snow has finally melted…that long.  During these cold and snowy winter months birds need an extra addition of fat to help them survive.  I was able to keep many birds happy with this easy peanut butter bird seed ball recipe from Kate Seaver, Kate’s Garden.

Ingredients:

•2 tbsp. (30 mL) corn oil
•2 cups (500 mL) rolled oats
•1 cup (250 mL) peanut butter
•1 cup (250 mL) sunflower seeds
•½ cup (125 mL) whole-wheat flour
•½ cup (125 mL) crushed eggshells
•1 cup (250 mL) vegetable shortening
•Cornmeal as needed

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients except cornmeal in a bowl. Add enough cornmeal to hold mixture together.

2. Form into balls or bricks, then freeze overnight.

3. Place on feeder to keep furry critters at bay, mount on a suet ball feeder, garden stake or bent coat hanger will work, too. If you’ve shape into brick then use a suet basket. Or invest in one of these fancy feeders and hang several balls at once.