Adrienne - ONCE UPON A CONEFLOWER

Make Your Own Hummer Food

If you enjoy hummingbirds, you no doubt already have a hummingbird feeder or two. Did you know you can make your own sugar water for them? I’ve been making hummer food for years. It’s very easy and of course, cheaper. Besides, the red coloring in the commercial stuff is not good for the hummingbirds, and totally unnecessary. They will come without it.

I know they sell clear commercial solutions containing vitamins and minerals “for better egg laying”. But whenever I’ve tried it, the birds aren’t interested at all and it spoils. So I stick with homemade sugar water and trust the hummers will get enough nutrition from insects.

Here’s how to make your own.

Versatile Alliums

If you’re looking for something a little different, this member of the onion family won’t disappoint. There are about thirty cultivars to choose from, all striking. Alliums are easy to grow and pack a lot of punch for a bulb. Though still not very well known, they are steadily gaining in popularity, Once you have them, you’ll wonder how you did without them for so long.

At the end of this article is a summary profile chart.

I must confess that other than chives, the more ornamental alliums were new to me too, until just recently. But wow do I love them now. When the setting sun backlights the white cultivar Mount Everest, it’s as if my garden is full of floating paper lanterns. Beguiling!

Beat the Weeds

No one that I’ve met really enjoys weeding. Luckily there are ways to tame this often dreaded chore along with deadheading and trimming, so the task is manageable rather than monstrous. Here are a few tips.