How did it all start? Well... with a yard of wasteland grass and thankfully some siberian crab apple trees!
Yes, just a lot of almost dead grass. Guess what? Not a bird in sight....
To some this is the perfect yard... easy to mow/nothing in the way. To wildlife? It's a desert...
I started adding some layers for my feathered friends to hide and find seeds in ...
Yay! Raised garden boxes!! Vegetables and a sunflower garden at the back (hello goldfinches!)
Ahh... the expanding bird area (can always give up more grass area)
My son Max helped with the "no dig garden bed" concept - worked beautifully! Put down cardboard over the grass and then our compost and soil... Tada! Raised garden bed with no back breaking/ digging up sod!
By fall it had filled in beautifully :)
Black eyed susan coneflower (rudbeckia) - a must have for your pollinator garden!
Sweet Boreal Chickadee... huskier chirp than his Black Capped cousin
Love my blue jay mated pair... they're not the bullies they're made out to be.
Resting or prayer? Both are sweet...
A bounty of house finches in the yard and there's nothing quite as happy as their song (maybe the robin)
Well.. the nuthatches are just adorbs...
Ohhh my nest boxes made by The Bearded Woodsman! Every one of my boxes have been occupied - I'm sure because of the amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail/specs that Micah puts into them.
Cant have enough coneflowers in your pollinator garden!
Quotable phrase from my dad - "Everyone deserves a meal"... and this juvenile sharp shinned hawk made everyone in my yard edgy until choosing a house sparrow for a snack.
A couple of the hummingbird favourites! Scarlet runner beans and red calibrachoa - must haves!!
Haskap bush... sooo good for you - if you can get before the birds clean them out!