{"id":9712,"date":"2025-08-14T08:57:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T08:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=9712"},"modified":"2025-08-14T15:53:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:53:26","slug":"summer-power-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/summer-power-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Power Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Garden Grow in Less Than an Hour a Week!<\/h2>\n

Whether you\u2019re retired or you have a full-time job, some people just don\u2019t want to spend hours and hours on end in the garden. So what can you do in your backyard in a single hour? More than you\u2019d think, as a matter of fact! Set a timer and see just how much you can get done in your backyard.<\/p>\n

1. Bird Baths<\/h3>\n
\"\"
\u00a9 Catherine Bell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The birds will thank you for your bird bath<\/strong> this summer \u2013 especially if the water is fresh. Take some time to dump out your bird bath and giving the basin a wash before adding fresh water for the bath.<\/p>\n

2. Toad House<\/h3>\n

\"American<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re very lucky to find toads<\/strong> in your garden, create a little house for it to live in! All you\u2019ll need is a clay pot and a little patch of shade to keep it happy. For instructions on how to create a toad home, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Hummingbird Feeder<\/h3>\n

\"\"Hummingbirds<\/strong> use our backyards to fuel up as they flit along their migratory path. When hummingbirds reach your yard, they\u2019ll be extra grateful if they have fresh nectar to sip from. So clean out your hummingbird feeder and fill it with some fresh nectar.<\/p>\n

4. Rich Blooms<\/h3>\n
\"\"
\u00a9 Frank McHarg, CWF Photo Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want more hummingbirds in your backyard, you can also plant tubular, nectar rich blooms<\/strong> too! Here are the flowers we have in the hummingbird garden at CWF\u2019s office<\/a>. You can also pick up a handy plant pack filled with hummingbird-friendly flowers at Home Depot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Mulch!<\/h3>\n

\"spreadingNext time you swing by the garden centre, pick up a few bags of mulch<\/strong>! Mulch is really important to plants so they can maintain their moisture over the hot summer months. You\u2019ll want to fully cover the soil between plants. But don\u2019t pack it down! You want a air pockets between the stems and the plant centres!<\/p>\n

6. Sprinklers<\/h3>\n

\"\"If your sprinklers<\/strong> are on a timer, set them to go off early in the morning. This will stop the water from evaporating quickly in the heat. So make that switch to maximize your water usage.<\/p>\n

7. Water for Wildlife<\/h3>\n
\"wildlife-friendly
Photo: Jason George<\/a>, CWF Certified Gardener<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of water, when the temperatures rise and there\u2019s no rain in sight, you\u2019ll want to take a close eye at the bodies of water in your backyard. Top up the water on your pond<\/strong> and bird bath. The wildlife that visit your home will be grateful!<\/p>\n

8. Insects<\/h3>\n

\"\"Keep a close eye on your plants too. If you see any signs that insects are getting a little too voracious with your plants and they show signs of damage, get a plan in place. Particularly, you\u2019ll want to get a plan in place that omits pesticides<\/strong>. Learn how to control harmful insects naturally<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. Fertilize<\/h3>\n

\"\"If you\u2019ve got any plants in containers or pots, make sure you\u2019re watering them every day and feed them a little fertilizer<\/strong> every couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

10. Compost<\/h3>\n

\"\"As the summer comes to an end, you can prepare for fall by adding some compost<\/strong> to your flower beds!<\/p>\n

If you really want to improve your green thumb, go through the steps to get your garden certified with the Canadian Wildlife Federation<\/a>!<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Garden Grow in Less Than an Hour a Week! Whether you\u2019re retired or you have a full-time job, some people just don\u2019t…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":9713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631,641],"tags":[680,3789,609,310],"class_list":["post-9712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","category-gardening","tag-backyard-gardening","tag-gardening-4-wildlife","tag-gardening-for-wildlife","tag-wild-about-gardening"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9712"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9717,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9712\/revisions\/9717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}