[PHOTOS: CWF]
Berries are ripening and birds are feasting! This week our pagoda dogwood berries (shown above) are attracting waxwings and eastern kingbirds, among others. I see glimpses of many other birds come to the pagoda outside my window – some for its flowers and then berries while some are getting ready to have a bath in the stream below it.
As to other visitors, early this morning I got a glimpse of our resident skunk. It contemplated if I was a threat or not and deciding on the latter, lowered its tail and continued its search for grubs in the ground. I also saw a young rabbit while earlier this week Al found a garter snake. All potentially challenging, but all possible to live along side in harmony, too.
And just one new bloom to report – pearly everlasting. It gets its name from the fact that its flowers are great for drying and will last ages in displays. Its leaves remind me of rosemary, only with a whitish tinge. They form rounded mounds after a time and like to grow in the sun where they are a great food source for bees.
Have a happy week and don’t forget to check out WildAboutGardening.org and our homepage photo contest with its great gardening prizes!
Sarah Coulber
Sarah is an Education Specialist at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. She writes about the benefits and ‘how-to’s’ of wildlife-friendly gardening, coordinates content for the Gardening for Wildlife web section, co-manages the wildlife-friendly demonstration gardens at CWF headquarters and assists Canadians looking to achieve similar results with their own properties.
