Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common Garden Sizes- a survey question

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jun 8, 2024, at 9:02 AM, Sara Gottlieb <sara.gottlieb [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:

> Make sure to leave room for flowers and native plants that will attract
> pollinators and natural predators to your garden.

A few years ago I let the planters on my balcony go native. Instead of 
marigolds, baby's breath, squash, onions, and various other things, they are 
filled with random grasses and “weeds” that stay green all summer without my 
attention. 

At first, I reminded myself each year that I should at least clear the weeds in 
the fall though it never really got done. The surprising result is that I have 
a greater number and a wider variety of birds visiting to gather straw for 
their nests in the spring and eat seeds during the summer and fall. The Robins 
seem to appear first, very early, followed by Blue Jays and Cardinals. 
Interestingly they also come in pairs which I don’t remember happening before. 
The male and female visiting together.

So leave some dry plants for the birds over the winter. 

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org