Beneficial Insects That Are Active In Fall

Beneficial Insects that can be Found In Your Fall Garden

Beneficial Insects That Are Active In Fall-ground-beetle-beneficial-insect
Ground Beetle Beneficial Insect

During the spring and summer months there are many challenges that can turn a dream garden into a nightmare, one such challenge is managing and controlling garden insect pests. But what I find to be amazing is nature has a way of bringing balance in a natural way to our ecosystem by helping to manage these garden pests. The way nature does this is by allowing beneficial insects also known as the good bugs to make a meal out of garden insect pests. This method of managing these garden pests is called biological control.

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How to Encourage Wildlife into Your Garden

5Ways to Encourage Wildlife into Your Garden

How To Encourage Wildlife Into Your Garden-a-butterfly-resting
A butterfly

Attracting wildlife into your garden requires the right plant species and other features that will not only get their attention but make them feel right at home. This man-made habitat (your backyard garden) can provide wildlife with the comforts they need even to raise their young. Wildlife gardening has become so popular over the years and is still on the rise.

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How to Create a Bee Friendly Garden

Tips to Create a Bee-Friendly Garden

How To Create A Bee Friendly Garden-bees-collecting-pollen
Bees collecting pollen

It’s estimated that there are “2 trillion bees worldwide, this amount of bees are divided into 20,000 species”,  of this number of bee species it’s estimated that the number of honey bee colonies amounts to 81 million. The natural habitat of honey bees is tropical evergreen forests, meadows, woodlands, orchards, and gardens. Honey bees also construct nests or hives inside of tree cavities, dead stumps, and under the edges of objects to be hidden from predators.

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How To Attract Native Birds To Your Garden

Tips to Attract Native Birds

How To Attrcat Native Birds To Your Garden-Kingfisher
A Kingfisher resting

Different shades of green with splashes of bright colors can create a beautiful garden that’s inviting but the highlight of a garden setting is the presence of wildlife, there’s just something about wildlife that causes a garden to come alive. Besides being entertaining (singing) as we watch them in their natural habitat birds provides natural control of insects known as biological control.

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How To Protect Potted Plants From Squirrels

Squirrel Proof Your Potted Plants

How To Protect Potted Plants From Squirrels-a-squirrel-in-container
A squirrel in a container

Squirrels may be cute and cuddly but they can present problems with garden plants including container-grown plants, these frisky little critters seem to always be on the look for their next meal. It does not matter how beautiful your potted plants are growing squirrels will cause many issues by wracking havoc in search of or burying their food even in the soil of plants that are container grown.

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How To Befriend Wild Rabbits

Becoming Friends with a Wild Rabbit

How To Befriend Wild Rabbits-two-rabbits-resting
Wild rabbits resting

What I find to be rather interesting is the friendship between humans and animals and while it’s ok to befriend domestic animals such as a dog or a cat it is startling to see how some have taken it to a whole other level in bonding with wild animals such as lions, tigers, bears, and other dangerous animals that live in the wild and while this article is not geared towards these animals we will be looking at another animal that many persons have come to love and befriend and while it may seem all right in seeking to win the trust and affections of wild rabbits caution should be taken to avoid one being injured. Remember no matter how cute and cuddly these rabbits are they are still wild.

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Best Way To Get Rid of Chipmunks

Best ways to get rid of chipmunks in your yard

Best Way To Get Rid Of Chipmunks-a-chipmunk
A chipmunk

I wrote an article some time back on how to attract chipmunks to your yard but we will be turning our attention to the best way to get rid of chipmunks. While it’s true that some persons take delight in attracting chipmunks to their yards because of how cute and cuddly they are some persons however see them as rodents and a nuisance, therefore, searching out ways of making their yard or garden area chipmunk-proof.

Chipmunk Habitat

Chipmunk habitats are areas that provide them with a lot of ground cover which includes rocks, trees, bushlands or woodlands, stumps, and logs. Chipmunks also take refuge near hedges, houses, fence lines, and urban parks, chipmunks are also known to dig two types of burrows, these burrows are dug directly underneath or next to natural or manmade cover. Shallow burrows are dug during the daytime, these shallow burrows are to protect them while foraging.  The other burrow which is more complex and deeper serves for raising their young, food storage, and resting during the long winter months.

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How to Attract Parrots to Your Yard

Successful Tips on Attracting Parrots to Your Yard

How To Attract Parrots To Your Yard-two-parrots
 Two Parrots

Bring the wild to you by turning your yard into a garden that is irresistible for wildlife, these types of gardens have sparked an interest which is why many homeowners are not just constructing a garden but creating a garden that’s wildlife-friendly which is a great way to connect with nature in this most awesome way.

A garden of this sort is pretty amazing, in this article we will be discussing how to attract parrots to your yard. What a joy it is to have these exotic birds visit your yard as you watch them in their natural habitat providing hours of fun both for adults and kids. There are estimated to be some 350-402 species of parrots in which most of them live in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

However, due to habitat destruction, many parrots have become extinct, these intelligent birds that are so beautiful deserve our help. If you are interested in giving nature a helping hand then continue reading as we take our journey into the world of parrots and how to care for them.

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How To Attract Wild Birds To Your Yard

8 Simple Steps To Attract Wild Birds To Your Yard

How To Attract Wild Birds To Your Yard-a humming-bird
A hummingbird

Creating a garden that’s buzzing with activity is a great way to enjoy nature as you sit or take a walk in your garden, these types of gardens will provide hours of fun for kids as well as watching birds in their natural habitat. While going on a nature walk in the wild is great you can bring the wild to you by making your garden irresistible. A project such as this is great for the whole family.

Bird watching is a hobby that is enjoyed by many and has its rewards including learning the different names of birds so if this sounds like you then continue reading as we take our journey into how to attract wild birds to your yard.

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What Can I Do To Help The Bees

Helping Bees and other Pollinators  to Stay Safe

Honey Bee-gardening-what-can-I-do-to-help-the-bees
Honey Bee

Bees are so amazing, these little engineers are responsible for the honey industry making millions of dollars on a yearly basis but the bee population is in danger because of their habitat being destroyed making way for roads, building structures, parks, and other infrastructures which means bees are now having to search for places to survive.

Now I know that we can’t save the whole world (the bee Population) but what we can do is our part in providing a home for them. The traditional way of installing garden plants is for beauty and not necessarily for helping to make a home for wildlife.

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How to Attract Sparrows

How to Attract Sparrows to your Garden

House Sporrows-how-to-attract-sparows
A house sparrow

Having your garden teeming with sparrows are a great way to observe these birds in their natural habitat. It’s said that there at least 35 species of sparrows in North America, sparrows can also be found in New Zealand, Asia, Europe, and Australia, their habitat includes the edges of woodlands, roadsides, farmlands, grasslands, and gardens. The most common sparrow is the house sparrow, these birds congregate in areas such as farms, cities, towns, and suburbs.

Sparrows are social birds and don’t same to be afraid when they are in the presence of humans. These birds can provide excitement as they create a buzz with their presence bringing your backyard garden to life as they build their home, feed, dust bathe and raise their young. Below we will be looking at proven methods of having success in attracting sparrows.

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Gardening for Butterflies,Bees and Birds

Let’s talk about the birds, the bees, and the butterflies

Monarch Butterflies-gardening-for-butterflies-birds-and-bees
Monarch Butterflies

Wildlife gardening has become so popular among home gardens because of the many benefits these garden types bring, Constructing a wildlife garden does not only beautify but helps in bringing balance to our ecosystem.

What I love about wildlife gardening is the amount of activity which can be found within these gardens, how good it is to take a walk in your garden and to see birds resting, taking a drink or grabbing a meal, or what about butterflies flying so gracefully from plant to plant with their wings in such beautiful display of colors.

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How To Take Care Of Doves

Steps in caring for doves

A dove-a-dove-in-the-tree
A ringneck dove

Doves are beautiful birds that are used as a symbol of peace and love, in the Christian cycle especially among the early church we see these birds widely used. There are more than 200 species of doves some of which are the ring-neck dove, common ground dove, mourning dove, Inca dove, red turtle dove, etc…

Attracting doves to your garden and landscapes is a great way to not only have a wildlife garden but helping to bring balance to our eco-system by giving nature a helping hand. As a child both my brother and I who is the elder raised pigeons which are also a part of the dove family.

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How To Get Rid Of Centipede In The Garden

How to kill centipedes

Black Centipede-how-to-get-rid-of-centipede-in-the-garden
A Centipede

There are many creepy crawlers that can be found in our landscapes and garden area, and as creepy as these insects they help to bring balance to the eco-system. One such creepy crawler is the centipede, centipedes are predatory arthropods that feed upon soft-bodied insects such as roaches, spiders, worms, termites, flies, moths, fleas, silverfish other centipedes, etc… there are more than 1500 species of centipedes that can be found outdoors.

I saw a video at one time where a giant centipede attack and ate a small snake which I found to be pretty amazing. One thing to keep in mind is that all wildlife seeks shelter, food, and water this is what attracts them to our environment, have you ever came across a large centipede? this happened to me on many occasions and to be honest with you it was a surprise but not a good one.

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How To Attract Crows To Your Yard

Providing a home for crows

A Black Crow

Crows are often used in horror movies to depict an eerie type of feeling I don’t know why I guess because of their peculiar looks and their color why they are used to depict this image but what I have heard is that crows are some of the smartest birds around.

A co-worker related a story to me about watching a nature program on television showing the intelligence of these birds.

The experiment showed a few crows wanted to eat some nuts which they found but in order to access these nuts the shell had to be broken so what they did was take a nut in their beak fly to the top of the lamp pole waited for a vehicle to pass, once that vehicle got close enough they would let the nuts drop in the pathway of those passing vehicles, that would roll over the nuts breaking them giving the crows access to the nuts inside. Once the vehicles passed these crows would then swoop down for those nuts.

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keep Rats Out Of Yard

Winning the war on rats

A Rat-keep-rats-out-of-yard
A Rat

The presence of rats can be very disturbing especially when they are in great numbers. Rats carry diseases and once they gain access to your home can cause much damage.

I believe if not all most of us have had distasteful experiences with these rodents. Rats will bite holes in your door or wait for the perfect opportunity to slip through and once they have gained access will eat holes in your clothing, consume your food products especially if they are not secured.

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How To Attract Chipmunks To Your Yard

Tips on attracting chipmunks to your yard

A Chipmunk

In my last article, we looked at how to attract squirrels to your garden and we also discover some fun facts about these little animals but now we turn our attention to attracting chipmunks to our yard, we will be looking at what sets a chipmunk apart from a squirrel along with some fun facts. I promise you this will be exciting.

So you want to attract chipmunks to your yard, this is a great idea because you will be giving nature a helping hand by providing a home and food for wildlife. This method of attracting chipmunks, squirrels, etc… to your yard or garden is known as wildlife gardening and as you will discover is one of my favorite garden types.

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Attract Squirrels To Your Garden

How to squirrel guide

A Squirrel

For many, the sight of a squirrel can be so exciting, and then for others, this can be as Ebenezer Scrootch says in the famous movie a Christmas Carol  “humbug” But for me, squirrels are cute little animals that can really be lots of fun as you watch them in their natural habitat.

But as cute and cuddly as squirrels are they can become a nuisance to many home gardens doing much damage. Squirrels can be found both in urban and rural areas, some years ago my family and I took a vacation trip to Orlando and decided to visit one of the shopping malls which had a few large trees in the parking lot, and to our amazement, we saw a cute little squirrel moving with such lighting speed ok I may be exaggerating a bit but this squirrel was moving so fast up that tall tree I could not believe the speed of this little animal.

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Attracting Pigeons To Your Garden

Great tips on how to connect with wildlife

Pigeons

Attracting pigeons to your garden can be very exciting as we experience nature in an awesome way. This is a great way to get children involved in wildlife gardening showing them how they can play their part in helping to provide a home for and protect our feathered friends

I love wildlife gardens as you would see from the many articles which I have written and posted so please do check out the category section of this website where you can learn so many exciting things when it comes to these types of gardens that have captured the hearts of many people.

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Attracting DragonfliesTo Your Yard

Creating a dragonfly garden

A Demoiselle Dragonfly

Creating a garden that attracts dragonflies can be a very rewarding experience as your garden area is buzzing from activity with these insects which are a predator to mosquitoes, beetles and other insects. As a child, I remembered on long hot summer days, my brother and sister along with my self and our neighborhood friends would spend hours in the bushes catching and collecting dragonflies.

It was such a delight to watch them as they flew, their wings resembled the spinning of a helicopter’s propeller. Both watching and catching them was a favorite pass time that I looked forward to.

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How To Encourage Wild Rabbits To Your Yard

Attracting wild rabbits with these proven methods

Rabbits

Rabbits are cute and cuddly and do make a great pet, it is interesting to see how they move about by hopping around. My wives niece once own a rabbit that just seems to spend most of its time resting not really moving about just sitting there, my wife has also expressed an interest in getting a rabbit as a pet because of their cuteness and softness

But what I found to be even more interesting is that as cute and cuddly as rabbits are there are some persons who just don’t like having rabbits around especially in their garden area because rabbits can do much damage consuming and destroying food crops looking for a meal.

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Attracting Cardinals To Your Yard

Great Tips on Attracting the Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal

Here we go again with another exciting topic on wildlife gardening, these gardens are truly amazing and have caught the attention of so many homeowners and weekend warriors who love to connect with nature in this way.

I believe that wildlife gardening is so exciting because with these garden types you can experience nature up close and in such a unique way, the great part is you would have provided a home for them right from your backyard as you watch them in their natural habitat helping to bring balance to the ecosystem.

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Attract Lizards To Your Garden

The benefits of having lizards in your garden

A Garden Lizard

A common creature that can be found among landscaping and garden plants are lizards, as a child, I took great interest in constructing my very own garden it took me a while but my hard work paid off as my little hands worked the soil hoping to reap a good harvest from my labor which I did.

One garden creature which I would often come across were lizards, even though I did not give much thought as to why they were present in my little garden I would watch them resting or moving around appearing to be busy.

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How To Attract Finches Into Your Garden

Great tips to attracting finches

A Gouldian Finch

It is so wonderful to connect with nature on the great outdoors, going on nature walks is such an awesome feeling as we get to take in all the sights and sounds that nature has to offer, activities like this can be a good stress reliever as you take a break from the hustle and bustle of life and just unwind.

Going on a nature walk is also a great way to get that much-needed exercise, but what I also love about nature is that you can bring nature to you by creating the kind of environment that will attract wildlife, the kind of environment they just can’t resist. In this article, we will be discussing how to construct a garden that will attract finches as we watch and enjoy them in their habitat.

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How To Attract Toads In Your Garden

The benefits of toads and frogs in the garden

A Toad

Toads and Frogs are amphibians that belong to the Anura order, the difference between a frog and a toad is a frog has slimy smooth skin and is a bit longer whereas a toad’s skin is bumpy and dry. Toads spend the greater part of their lives on the land whereas frogs spend the majority of their lives in the water.

But what is also interesting to note is that people, in general, have a dislike for both and either try to get as far away as possible from them or doing away with them which I think is pretty harsh. Understanding these amphibians and how they impact our ecosystem is of great importance and will give us a greater appreciation for them.

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How To Attract Robins To Your Garden

Attracting Wildlife To Your Garden

A Robin resting on a pine tree branch

Wildlife gardening can be so exciting as you watch the many activities which go on in your garden and landscape. These practices have become so popular because of the life and energy which they bring to a garden setting, how wonderful it is to connect with nature as we watch our garden friends in their natural habitat going about their daily activity collecting their foods ( pollen ) bees and butterflies, even feeding their young however in this article we will be discussing how to attract robins to our gardens.

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Attracting BlueBirds To Your Yard

Tips to successfully attract bluebirds to your yard

BlueBird-attracting-bluebirds-to-your-yard
Bluebird

One of the amazing things about nature or the great outdoors is that there is so much activity as you observe nature at its best.  There is a library of information to share, from shrubs to garden flowering plants, fruits, herbs, vegetables, and so on but besides plant life, there is a host of garden insect from the good the bad, and the ugly ( good bugs or beneficial and the bad bugs) ok I know I may be stretching it a bit when I say the ugly but you must agree with me that there are some ugly bugs even among the good guys but at least they are doing their job by protecting our gardens and landscapes, right.

Then there are birds that sing so sweetly, well at least some of them, flying so gracefully in the open skies with the help of the wind’s current as they glide dazzling us with their array of colors,  in their natural habitat going about their daily activities socializing, gathering food, building their nest, feeding their young and so on makes the great outdoors so much more exciting. In this article, however, we will be turning our attention from plants for a while and focusing on wildlife, in particular, the world of birds such as the bluebird.

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How To Garden For Bumblebees

Growing your garden with bumblebees

BumbleBees-how-garden-for-bumble-bees
Bumblebees on purple coneflowers

As a child, I was always fascinated with bees because there would be times during certain times of the year especially the spring and summer months when I would see bees by the hundreds it seems that would be buzzing around trees and other garden plants.

I always wondered why they were congregating in such a huge mass around these plants, now I know why, without our little friend’s presence and being so active in our gardens our garden plants would not be so productive giving us such a great harvest.

Bumblebees in the garden

This is a good tread off and a win-win situation both for us and our bee friends. Bumblebees need nectar and pollen to develop their larva. Besides these bees also needs a home throughout their life-cycle and to build their nest also to take care of their young.

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How To Care For Birds In The Winter

Helping wildlife to weather the winter months

Bluejay resting in the snow-how-to-care-for-birds-in-the-winter
Blue jay resting in the snow

Summer has passed, spring is gone and fall is here. Winter is following close by as our gardens and landscapes are preparing to be matted with snow while nature goes into that long-awaited rest. This is the time of year that we experience a winter wonderland.

For some, this is a wonderful occasion and for others, there is the thought of wishing for spring where nature is bursting with activity as our landscapes and gardens are painted with an array of colorful flowering plants.

What makes spring and summer days really awesome is watching and listening to birds singing so sweetly in the summer breeze, but with winter approaching their singing slowly fades as they prepare for those long winter months.

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HOW TO KEEP SNAKES OUT OF YOUR GARDEN

Winning the war on garden snakes

Garter_Snake-how to keep snakes out of you garden
A Gater Snake

When it comes to snakes many people are hung up or have mixed feelings about these slithery creatures that are feared by so many. I have had many days of running into snakes and to be honest with you they were not pleasant experiences.

I remembered one time I stepped on one and man I began to peddle in the air just like those cartoon characters, well I might be stretching the truth a bit but stepping on that snake had my heart racing as my blood was rushing. I must admit though and I am not ashamed to say, that snake had me doing the 100-yard dash I would have put Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt to shame.

I guess I can now look back on that day and have a good laugh but going through that experience at the time was really not funny it was a really shocking life-changing experience.

The eco-system

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Controlling Insect Pest With Birds

controlling insect pest with birds-Birds eating insects
Bird hunting insect

Attracting Birds to Control insect pests

Designing and installing a beautiful garden can really increase the value of your property as you connect with nature enjoying the array of colors that put you in such a relaxed mode.

But having a garden does have its challenges from disease and insects to issues that may range from nutritional to soil ph problems. But the good news is that with some knowledge you can address these problems and help your garden along the way to maintain its beauty and charm.

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Plants That Eat Insects

Plants that eat garden insects

Venus fly trap-plants-that-eats-insects
Venus flytrap

What I find so fascinating about the plant world is its diversity. For centuries plants have benefited us in so many ways. From being used as food for creating medicines, skincare products, shampoos, fuel, to beautifying, purifying the air that we breathe and so many other things.

The list seems to be endless. But what is also awesome is there are plants that eat garden insects, who would ever think these kinds of plants existed?

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Releasing And Keeping Beneficial Insects In Your Garden

Controlling Garden Insect Pest the Natural Way

releasing-and-keeping-beneficial-insects-in-your-garden-ladybug feeding on mealy bugs
Ladybug feeding on mealybugs

What I love about nature is that nature was design to take care of itself. Have you ever notice how beautiful plants are that grows in the wild or in an uncontrolled environment that is not touched by human hands

This photo shows a ladybug that is beneficial feeding on a host of mealy bugs that is the bad bugs.

this truly is nature working at its best. Nature offers a safe way in which these plants are maintained, by following what nature has taught us can also help us to maintain beautiful landscapes and gardens in a safe way.

In this article, we will be focusing on insect biological control that offers such great help for garden success.

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How To Attract Pollinators To Your Garden

Wildlife are our friends

 Butterfly on lantanas-how-to-attract-pollinators-to-your-garden
Butterfly resting on lantanas

What amazes me about nature is the help that we get in order to survive. Who would have ever thought that the production of many foods we enjoyed depends on these tiny creatures?

Have you ever notice just before the growing season starts there are many even hundreds of bees that swarms your garden area? What these little helpers of nature is actually doing is helping the food chain.

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Garden integrated pest management

Managing Garden Pests the Easy Way

IPM or Integrated pest management is not new to the field of landscape and gardening. In fact, this method has been introduced many years ago and is popular because of how safe these methods are when it comes to ensuring safe ways or practices within the landscape and gardens.

Bees collecting nectar-garden-intergrated-pest-management
Bees collecting nectar from a flower garden

Definition of IPM

The use of long-term strategies and practices that focus on a safe manner to control and eliminate pests through methods such as mechanical, biological control, proper cultural practice, and the use of resistant plants.

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Plants That Repels Insects

Using Plants to Keep Insects at Bay

Plants are really amazing and beneficial to just about all living things. Plants can be used for food, to purify the air that we breathe, for decoration, for medicine, and the list goes on. But in this article, we will be looking at plants that repel insects.

Colorado potato beetles-plants-that-repels-insects
Colorado Beetles

I believe that wise gardening is not just planting for beauty, but using plants that can serve more than one purpose. Your garden should be designed in such a way that when planning in this way it makes life easier for you.

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Creating A Lily Pond

Lily Ponds – added feature added flavor

Creating a lily pond- water lillies
A lily pond

Lily ponds can add that special feature and flavor which can really lighten up your surroundings while also adding that touch of class and elegance. Lily ponds are one of my favorite additions to a home garden and will add that unique quality for those who want to go to the next level.

Watching your floating water lilies can be a wonderful past time as you enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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Creating A Hummingbird Garden

Hummingbird garden construction

Creating a hummingbird garden- Hummingbird sitting on branch
Hummingbird resting

Like butterfly gardens, a hummingbird garden is no exception. Creating a garden to invite these small friends can be a wonderful and delightful experience for the homeowner. Special care should be taken though when creating this type of garden.

Planning your hummingbird garden

Thought and care should be our number one goal when seeking to plant a garden such as this.

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Creating a Butterfly Garden

Creating a butterfly garden

Creating a butterfly garden-Butterfly on flowers
Butterfly feeding

Bring your garden to life by making it a habitat for butterflies which will bring beauty and charm to your surroundings. Can you imagine your garden area being, filled with activity and excitement as you watch some of nature’s beauties in their natural habitat

So what does it takes to construct a butterfly garden?

Constructing a butterfly garden can be lots of fun not only for adults but it can also be a fun activity for kids as well as learn about the different features and plants that it takes to make our gardens inviting to our colorful friends.

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