There Is pasión I can feel it in my skin 🌄🌵🌵

Conchita de caracol 🌄🌵🌵

Magdaleno un artista extraordinario que utiliza una técnica única con diseños coloridos expresando un poco de lo que es México un pais que vibra por su pasión a la naturaleza y las especies que viven en el. Les dejo una probadita de lo mucho que se viene. Hagan sus pedidos solo aqui en #cactus #suculentas #eventos #entretenimiento #pasionpormexico

Magdaleno un artista extraordinario que utiliza una técnica única con diseños coloridos expresando un poco de lo que es México un pais que vibra por su pasión a la naturaleza y las especies que viven en el. Les dejo una probadita de lo mucho que se viene. Hagan sus pedidos solo aqui en #cactus #suculentas #eventos #entretenimiento #pasionpormexico

Magdaleno un artista extraordinario que utiliza una técnica única con diseños coloridos expresando un poco de lo que es México un pais que vibra por su pasión a la naturaleza y las especies que viven en el. Les dejo una probadita de lo mucho que se viene. Hagan sus pedidos solo aqui en #cactus #suculentas #eventos #entretenimiento #pasionpormexico

Saturday quote 📠🌄🌵🌵

Utilizar materiales reciclados para crear macetas es algo q nos encanta en🌄🌵🌵

Utilizar materiales reciclados para crear macetas es algo q nos encanta en🌄🌵🌵

Small things make magic spaces🏜🏜🏜🏜

Succulents and Cacti at the Huntington Library Gardens Great Tips

If you’re looking for a beautiful garden to tour in Southern California, be sure to stop by the Hunting Library and Gardens. You’ll find succulents and cacti galore along with other amazing plants. On a recent trip to Southern California I paid a visit to the Huntington Library and Gardens to check out their Desert […]

The post Succulents and Cacti at the Huntington Library Gardens appeared first on Succulents and Sunshine. Written by Cassidy Tuttle.

from Succulents and Sunshine http://ift.tt/2ji9sgN
via IFTTT

Watering Succulents in Pots without a Drainage Hole Great Tips

There are some amazing planters and pots for succulents that don’t have drainage holes. Find out how to properly water your succulents in one of them! Figuring out how often to water your succulents can be tricky. But, it’s usually even harder in pots without a drainage hole. Succulents need their roots to dry out […]

The post Watering Succulents in Pots without a Drainage Hole appeared first on Succulents and Sunshine. Written by Cassidy Tuttle.

from Succulents and Sunshine http://ift.tt/2iqq2tA
via IFTTT

How to Protect Succulents from Frost Amazing tips

Frost cloth protects jades and other vulnerable succulents in my garden

Depending on the type of succulent, how low temperatures drop (water freezes at 32 degrees F), and how long the cold snap lasts, “frost tender” succulents may show damage just on leaf tips or collapse into mush.

When moisture in the cells of a vulnerable plant freezes, it expands and bursts cell walls. A few succulents have a built-in antifreeze, and survive temperatures well below 32 degrees F—below zero, in fact. But these are the exception, and tend to be in the genera Sedum and Sempervivum.

Crassulas, aeoniums, euphorbias, and kalanchoes are among the most tender succulents. The majority of aloes, echeverias, cacti and agaves can go a few degrees below freezing for a short period.

Unlike most agaves, thin-leaved Agave attenuata is the canary in the mine shaft where frost is concerned. After a brief exposure to 32 degrees, it looks like this.

Check the forecast, and if there’s a frost advisory for your area, cover susceptible plants with frost cloth (sometimes called garden cloth, frost blanket or floating row covers) or old bedsheets.

When determining if a tender succulent needs to be covered, I sometimes stand over it and look up. Plants beneath eaves or tree branches are not as vulnerable as those open to the sky.

Cold air is heavier than warm, and flows down slopes and collects in low spots. Consequently, succulents in swales are more at risk than those atop berms.

You may have heard that Christmas lights raise the temperature a few degrees. Yes, if they’re the old-fashioned kind. Those sold nowadays (LEDs) don’t generate heat.

Wait until spring to trim damaged tissue. It’ll help protect the plants from further damage.

Watch how I cover my own tender succulents in my latest video, “Protect Your Succulents from Frost.”

The post How to Protect Succulents from Frost appeared first on Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin.

from Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin http://ift.tt/2iNJkKY
via IFTTT

Thrifting for the Birds Amazing tips

House finch on a glass creamer repurposed as a bird feeder.

My pastimes of thrifting and birding inspired me to create bird feeders from repurposed items. It all began a few months ago when I was given a commercial feeder to trial. Its peaked roof is “cute” (to quote a friend), but it’s made of plastic (shudder) and is a color I call “hose green”—a blue-green never found in nature.

It also was too efficient. House finches (linnets) emptied it quickly, and one cup of seed mix is all I wanted to give them daily. Plus, watching these mice of the bird world stuff themselves became boring. All they did was sit, eat, and lunge at rivals who wanted to share the feeder.

I read up on wild birds—their habits, what species frequent the foothills of inland Southern CA, and what they eat. I also researched the ideal bird feeding experience for both birds and humans. Feeders should be located where you can watch easily from indoors, and where birds can dart into nearby branches; and well above the ground so cats can’t pounce and it’s difficult for rodents to help themselves.

So with bird-feeding in mind, I trolled estate sales and thrift shops. I decided to use inexpensive objects I found in abundance: wrought iron candleholders with metal rings for votives in glass cups. It seemed that such shallow vessels would hold the right amount of bird seed, and metal rods in pleasing ornamental shapes would make good perches.

Although I planned just one feeding station at first, I went on to create three on the deck outside my kitchen and dining room. Much thought, creativity and fun went into modifying them to maximize their appeal to me and to my feathered guests.

Bird feeders on a plant stand create a feeding station. Wire ball at center contains suet. Birds are house finches and, at the hummingbird feeder, an orange-crown warbler (also shown below).

Station One, positioned on the far corner of the deck, uses a 7-foot-tall wrought iron plant stand designed to hold hanging baskets of plants. On one hook is a square wrought iron candleholder with a glass candle cup that I initially worried might be too deep. I decided to go ahead and try it—after all, why shouldn’t those greedy finches work for their food? Sure enough, they’ll feed vertically if need be—beaks straight down and tail feathers skyward.

This made me wonder what other antics and acrobatics house finches might do. Although I stopped short of adding a maze, I decided the ideal feeder needs an entertainment factor.

Also on the plant stand I hung an old wire birdcage. It’s still my favorite feeder. I love watching wild birds eagerly enter the cage, the door of which I’ve wired open to avoid accidentally trapping one. (I’ve also spread the wires a bit on the opposite side, so they have a second exit. They enter the cage that way, too.) Once a plump mourning dove, seduced by the scent of peanuts, caged itself.

Next came a hummingbird feeder. Imagine my surprise when an adorable chartreuse bird about 4 inches long (compared to 5 inches for the house finches) began frequenting it, along with the expected Anna’s hummers. I’m pretty sure my “little green guy” is an orange-crowned warbler. Score!

I wired a tray onto the deck railing, and filled it with peanuts for doves and jays. White crowned sparrows came next, gleaning bits that fell on the deck or patio below.

Station Two, inspired by the birds’ lack of fear of my hulking house and the moving shadows within, is beneath the eaves right outside the kitchen window. In case you’re wondering, none of the birds has hit the glass. “They can tell it’s a barrier,” a Wild Birds Unlimited employee assured me. This station consists mainly of wrought iron candle holders linked together. I had to scrounge for S-hooks. When installing bird feeders, one never has enough.

House finches won’t share a feeder, but they’re fine crammed together if each has its own. Watch the video.   

Happy discovery: When each finch has its own seed-filled cup, it doesn’t mind being close to a rival finch. At a circular candleholder with seating for six, each place is soon filled, there’s a queue along the deck rail, and others observe from tree branches. That is, when they deign to visit.

House finches come and go like adolescents with cars. They arrive all at once, boisterous and noisy; pushing, flapping, and ravenous; each with a wary eye out for the Lady of the House. When she appears, they take off with a whoosh, offering no thanks, apologies, or stacking of dishes.

In my tea party themed station, glass feeders make the birds easier to see.

Station Three, installed earlier today, has a tea-party theme. I nailed two matching S-shaped candleholders horizontally beneath the eaves, then wired chains to them, with hooks to hang tea cups, a sugar bowl and creamer, a tea pot, and a serving tray with a handle. The initial version used pretty china cups, but I soon switched to glass. Being translucent, glass is like solid air, so it suits an airy feeder, plus you can see the birds better and how much seed is left. I still need a transparent tea pot. Which is to say, I really need to go thrifting. Soon.

Tips for creating a feeding station or making your own feeders:

— Be patient. It may take birds several days to find a feeder.
— House finches are prevalent and arrive in pairs (male and female). If you leave food sitting out, even if it’s not in a feeder, they’ll find it. Although wild birds are endearing when hopping on patio furniture, they do make a mess.
— Visit your local Wild Birds Unlimited store. The employees are friendly, knowledgable and happy to share information. Pick up a bag of WBU’s “No Mess Seed Mix.” (Nuts and seeds already shelled.)
— Add a birdbath. They’ll drink from it, splash around in it, and it’ll attract more birds (not all want seeds; many eat insects).
— Expect a bonanza of birds on a rainy day, which also is a great time to install a new feeding station.
— Hang breakable objects so they won’t hit each other when jolted by wings or the wind.
— At dusk, bring indoors food that might attract nocturnal varmints like rats and opossums.
— In winter, add suet (from a bird store or garden center) to your feeding station.

Female Anna’s hummingbird

— Don’t add food coloring to hummingbird syrup. The red of the feeder is enough to attract them.
— Keep hummingbird feeders clean; mildew and fungus can harm the birds.
— When placing a feeder, keep in mind that whatever is below it will be showered with bird droppings and seed husks.
— Hardware stores sell black S-hooks in the garden department; regular S-hooks (which are cheaper but silver colored) in the hardware section. You’ll also need chain (sold by the foot), flexible wire, and a wire cutter.
— Enrich your experience by identifying the birds that visit your feeders. Obtain a Sibley’s birding guide specific to your region. (No, the Internet and Google aren’t enough.)
— Get a good pair of binoculars (mine are Polaris Optics). They’re a portal to another world, both at feeders and beyond.

The post Thrifting for the Birds appeared first on Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin.

from Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin http://ift.tt/2jjCpwl
via IFTTT