The Consumer Salon

Horticulture must be one of the top summertime interests, especially in Britain, USA and Canada. Along with horticulture, is a good amount of garden tools and equipment, especially for those with a huge interest in Gardening. Then, for all, the summer and autumn times of year sadly come to an conclusion, and it is time to get the storage reorganized and everything locked away for the winter. Don’t we all just detest that task!

One of the hardest items about the house to store is garden tools. Tiny hand tools such as the trowel are rather easy to secrete away someplace. Their problem is their smallness, making them prone to be lost and be missing by spring. The superior issue comes with stashing away the troublesome shaped larger equipment.

Can you conceive of anything more troublesome than a springbok rake for finding somewhere sensible to put for long periods of time? Hurl in the shrubbery fork with its fatal spikes, stainless spade, border spade, springbok rake, forged hoe and you have a recipe for cataclysm lying in wait for you. These troubles increase 10 fold if you have youngsters.

Apart from anything else, though, it is a better idea all round to have your equipment housecleaned and stored in a safe place, exactly where you can recover them when you need them. Garden tool holders, which are especially designed to hive away garden accessories, are fashioned to overtake these troubles. They can easily be attached in any storage or garage, in fact anywhere that you prefer to hive away the equipment.

In order to make your tools easy to find and to keep them in good order you will need a effective tool rack. The problem is, which stand do you prefer? There are a number of options, and most of these are very well fashioned for the intention specified. While freestanding stands, if safe and robust, might be dandy, it is surely securer to have a wall rack that is all of the time secured to the garden shed or garage wall. In doing this it will be less likely to fall down on top of you when too many weightiness is summed up. If you have minors, a wall stand that can be erected out of the range of the kids is essential, as is choosing one that will hold the fork and other dangerous gardening equipment steadfastly in place.

Like many Americans, you may find bird watching to be a fascinating hobby. At the same time, perhaps you wonder how you can attract regular visitors to your yard without busting the bank by purchasing expensive foliage, feeders, and food. Here are some tips toward helping you establish a backyard paradise that is certain to welcome birds without draining your wallet.

1. Purchase a Birdbath. Prices for birdbaths can run anywhere from 10 dollars for the plastic model to well into the hundreds of dollars for the sculpted concrete model with lights and a waterfall. Birds are attracted to water, the glitter of sunlight will catch their eyes and bring them flying in. So, the plastic one works as well as the expensive one. If you must have a better model, check out the yard sales in your neighborhood for a good used birdbath. Amount budgeted: $10.

2. Invest in a Squirrel Proof Birdfeeder. For approximately 25 to 30 dollars you can get a birdfeeder that is squirrel resistant. Squirrels put their little paws on the doors to the feeder and it closes shut without hurting the squirrels. Because birds are so lightweight, they will be able to freely access the feeder and dine sumptiously. The added cost of the more expensive feeder will be offset by the savings in food that will no longer be consumed and wasted by ravenous squirrels. Amount budgeted: $30.

3. Purchase Good Seed. Much of the seed out there is simply filler seed especially if it is dirt cheap. Spend a little more and purchase black oil sunflower seed as the variety of birds attracted to this type of seed is wide. Most of the home center stores offer bags as large as 50 lbs. Start with a five pound bag and you will only spend about $6 for the initial supply of seed. Amount budgeted: $6.

4. Hang Suet. Suet can be pricey, but if acquired in bulk it can cost you less than 70 cents per block. A suet holder should only cost you another 2 or 3 dollars. If you can, place the suet a fair distance away from the birdfeeder, but not far enough away where you won’t notice the “traffic” flying from the birdfeeder to the suet and over to the birdbath. Amount budgeted: $12.

5. Provide Cover. Unless your yard is a barren landscape, you more than likely already have ample amounts of greenery present. You want to have a place for birds to rest, to check out your yard, and avoid cats. Consider moving shubbery around to provide a safe haven for your feathered friends. Amount budgeted: $0 — use your own sweat to move shrubbery, if needed!

Total expenditure to get your birding program in place: $68. Keep the remaining funds to replenish your sunflower seeds and suet in the coming months. Check birding books out from the public library if you need reading material.

Once you have everything in place, you should be able to attract birds almost immediately. If you live in an area frequented by chickadees, house finches, cardinals, nuthatches, goldfinches, grosbeaks, bluejays,and titmice they will arrive and eat the sunflower seeds. Wrens, nuthatches and flickers will be common visitors to your suet.

In summation, you can transfer your yard into a backyard paradise filled with the wonders of God’s feathered creations and you will be joining in with the majority of Americans who share a love of this common hobby.

For more information about birding please visit the National Audubon Society’s web site.

Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on just about any and every issue imaginable. You can preview samples from his high performing site at www.thearticlewriter.com