Hummingbirds are in full swing this time of year, and we have found that our bright plants in the garden are a great method to attract hummingbirds.
The red hot poker plants usually come up first in the spring, and boy do the hummingbirds love them! If you want to attract hummingbirds, and lots of them, you’ll want to get you some of these! Jeff says they are dripping with a honey-like substance, which the hummingbirds just love!
The poker plants are a bright red color. You’ll need to focus on bright colored plants with sweet nectar if you want to attract hummingbirds to your house with natural plants.
I think the bright colors attract hummingbirds because they can’t see too well. They are getting less afraid of people, in fact, here’s a picture of Jeff looking at one of the poker plants, and enjoying the hummingbird at the same time! If you move though, they will either fly away, or hover up and stare you right in the face to see if you are a threat.
We very much enjoyed the fact that this simple plant was able to attract hummingbirds to our garden this spring. They’ve now gone over to our neighbor’s house for awhile because his white hydrangea is in full bloom. We’re sure we’ll be able to entice them to come back with our bright orange lilies which are just now blooming! I can’t wait!
June 28th, 2010
Most people are familiar with the prefix “hydro” especially if you’re in the Western Washington area where the Hydroplane races take place. But we’re not here today to talk about boat racing; we’re going to discuss planting a hydroponics garden.
The Greeks originally developed the word Hydroponics by putting hydro (which means “water”) together with ponos, which means “labor or water-working”. Adding that all together we get hydroponic gardens which grow plants without soil.
Hydroponics gardening needs basically the same care as a regular garden. You need to pay attention to the plant’s needs for light, water, temperature, and humidity. What’s makes hydroponic gardens more interesting is that a soil substitute holds the roots while nutrients are carried by the water. Indoor hydroponic gardening is not that hard and plants respond well to this method of growing.
The nutrient solution that goes into the plant must have a pH level of 5 to 6 after dilution. The labor intensive part is that in hydroponics gardening, you should water more than three times a day. However, you can set up a system using a pump and timer to make things easier.
If you have an indoor hydroponics garden, it needs to be fairly warm inside. Usually between 71 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, you’ll need to adjust temperature needs depending on the different types of plant you are growing (i.e. tropical plants vs vegetables). Also check for much needed humidity. As the temperature in the room rises, the air can hold the amount of moisture your plants need.
Light is of utmost importance in a hydroponic garden. Make sure your plants are placed in an area that gets the right amount of light for the plant – or use an artificial lighting system built with high pressure sodium lights or bulbs.
The nice thing is that a hydroponics system can be fully automated. It’s water-based, so there’s no soil to dig or weeds to pull. And water can be re-used to prevent waste. Hydroponics gardens can yield many quality plants, and home hydroponics systems and DIY kits are readily available in most hardware stores.
Review the Revolutionary Bubbleponics Systems Here
June 22nd, 2010