Spring has Sprung

Which means it's a great time to attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden.

(My back yard)

I was at (the store) "The Range" last year when a Granddad befriended me as I was looking at the bird seed and told me how to attract Gold Finches to your garden.

(A Gold Finch)

Gold Finches really like Nyjer Seed and you need to purchase a special Nyjer Seed Feeder (which are quite expensive compared to normal bird seed feeders).

(Nyjer Seed Feeder - not my own)

The Nyjer Seeds are like miniature black rice (and I do mean miniature) and the special Nyjer Seed Feeder has very small holes for the birds to access the Nyjer Seeds.

It is a favourite of the Gold Finches (who will come 4-6 weeks after the Seed Feeder is put up) but also all other Finches. Another interesting tid-bit is that the Gold Finches always seem to travel in pairs. I often have two, four or six Gold Finches on my Nyjer Seed Feeder.

I am also a big believer and very passionate about Wildlife Gardening - doing those little things to make sure the bees, butterflies and other wildlife can find a home in your garden.

This explains it the best:

Why Wildlife Gardening Matters
(from http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=doonething)

Gardening is a beautiful hobby. We choose plants for their colour, scent, or architectural beauty and the result is always unique.

But there is another dimension besides. By providing shelter for wildlife, choosing certain kinds of plants, and looking after your garden in a particular way, you can encourage another whole display of colour, movement and sound.

Once you start, wildlife gardening becomes much more than just making friends with the local birds, hedgehogs and dragonflies. It’s a way of connecting to the whole web of life. Years ago, the countryside was rich in wild plants and animals but today that’s no longer true. Many of the creatures that thrive in gardens – for example frogs, goldfinches and sparrows – are having a hard time in their old haunts. What gardeners do to help makes a real difference.

And for the first time, there’s solid scientific evidence to show what really works. Research by Sheffield University has found that the key features are trees, dead wood, water, and a real variety of plant shapes and sizes.Once we provide these simple needs, we can see gardens not just as our outdoor rooms, but as an interconnected network of green patches that together amount to a very special nature reserve – whether in the heart of the metropolis, or within the wider countryside.

BBC Breathing Spaces (http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/) encourages us all to 'do one thing' for wildlife and there's no better place to start than close to home - in your own garden.