Hens love clover

First batch of clover and grass was introduced to my girls and they went wild over it.   I will have five trays with one week planting separations.   A rotation of five batches of this mix will be given once a week.  It took about a week and a half to grow the seed.  That should work nicely as a once a week treat.

Old Ladder New Life

Before

I had two A-Frame ladders and one old retractable ladder neither one would I dare try to use for what they were intended.  This spring I thought I'd try to bring them back to life not

After 2 months

for human use but for plant use.  As you can see from the picture  on the right these plants are climbing to their full glory.

I first dug away the dirt and lined the A-Frame ladders parallel to each other. The top retractable ladder was drilled down into each A-Frame ladder which gave the entire piece its stability. I pulled three lines of bailing wire from one rung level to the other ladder rung placed on the other end of the garden bed.   I finished off the piece with a wall hanging wire piece.

Walla!  Two months later this is what I get.

When I grow up

 Gorgeous and Serene.  Oh how I wish this WAS my garden.  Just splendid don't you think?  Someday when I grow up.  Beautiful landscape at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

Working Bees ...  you go girl.

Now I don't know what these are but I want some.  Brilliant red contrasted with black circles.  It's got to be a ladybug plant.  Yes that's what I'll call it.

Aphids... Yuk

Aphids

The last five years just as the new buds start appearing on my rose bushes along come these pesky little critters.  I've bought ladybugs in the past to try to naturally combat the little buggers.  To my surprise the ladybugs all disappear the next day.  I've followed the directions to the tea but still no use.

This year about the same time little black birds with yellow eyes called brewers migrated to our area.  Not just a dozen or so I'm talking about 50 to 75 of these little black birds.  They nest and bath and eat!  They stay around for about a month or two.  Anyways, I think they may eat the aphids as well.  I'm no expert and I can't prove it but my rose bushes had many stems that had been bent.  And the aphids are few and far between.  Could these wonderful little brewers have naturally controlled this aphid problem?  It wouldn't surprise me; Gods precious cycle of life.

Cteative wood pile

What a wonderful and creative idea for your wood pile.  They took old pipe connectors and drums to make circular patterns in the wood pile.

Garden Bench from Salvaged Fence

Dumpster diving and salvaged the distressed fence boards.  The shelf corner pieces were found at a yard sale for $1.  Redwood planks were left over from construction work.  Window frame picked up at another yard sale.  And walla; functional good looking potting bench.

Metal Garden Art

Garden stones from the local river bed and leftover rebar from pool construction made this unique metal art for our garden.  Left over pieces of miscellaneous metal and a little time in the workshop with the welder.

Creative Garden

I just can't stay away...from my garden that is.  Guess that's a good thing this time of year.

Scare Crow (Repurposed bed frame to left)

JUMBO Sunflowers

2012 Rooster - Tyrant

Free range chickens have kept down the earwigs and other pesky insects.  The chickens come running any time I start turning over potted plants.  Chicken droppings are very good for the soil and their scratching keeps the weeds down.  Win. Win. and Win again.  Love em.  Just keep the green veggie garden fenced otherwise they can decimate your garden in a half hour.

Chickens under the grapevines scratching away