Gardening

How To Stop Birds From Hitting Windows

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There are many reports every year all over the United States about birds hitting windows on homes and buildings repeatedly. In fact, in just the United States there are an estimated 900 million birds killed from hitting windows every year. Now that sounds like a lot, but if you think about it, that’s really only an average of about 2-3 birds per house each year, with many people reporting more than 3.

The reasons behind all this window striking is mainly due to the refection birds see when it is brighter outside than inside your house. This makes it very easy for them to see everything that is outside reflected in the glass like a mirror. There are even many instances where the birds see its own reflection and will feel the need to chase that other bird they see (this happens a lot during breading season).

Therefore, this is a topic discussed numerous times every year about the best solutions to get birds to stop doing this.

So, at this point I’m sure some readers have already done some of their own research about different answers to get this stopped. Some for example are:

Sticking decals on the glass
Move bird feeders farther away from the house
Hanging things down in front of their windows
Installing screens
Even replacing windows with a ones that reflect down or bird safe glass

As a result, these techniques can help, but do not always get the job done and can get expensive after trying one thing and then another. Also, I prefer my bird feeders to be somewhat close to my house, so I don’t have to use binoculars every time I want a better look at a bird I see at our feeders. So the easiest, and in my opinion the best solution to this problem is a feeder that mounts directly on the window. And the reason this works so well is because the birds can very clearly see the feeder on the window, and will fly to the feeder to eat then away from the house when finished eating (which the flying away from feeders is the most common window hitting). This is also a cheap way to fixing the problem with window bird feeders only costing $12 to $25 on average, and are great for getting a close view of birds while eating.

I hope this was helpful and that you are able to save more birds from hitting your windows. And for your convenience there is a great new bird supply store online that has amazing organized selections of everything bird watching related with some great deals on window bird feeders as well (please see my resources for more information).

Echinacea purpurea cultivars Part I

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The best Echinacea cultivars for sale today are the E. purpurea cultivars. There are too many to list in a single article so this article series breaks them up alphabetically. E. purpurea are the hardiest and most adaptable of all of the Echinacea, and they are great-as long as you like purple.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Alba’: White flowered form of the purple coneflower (Sun to light shade, Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Avalanche’ PP 18,597: The best compact, single white-flowered coneflower in our trials. This Arie Bloom hybrid makes a tight clump, adorned in summer with 20″ spikes of large, white, horizontally-held petals…quite nice! (Zone 4-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Bright Star’ (syn: Echinacea purpurea ‘Leuchstern’): This superb seed strain of our native coneflower is a bit taller than most (to 3-4′) and has a slightly larger and more horizontally held rosy purple petals. The small winter rosettes give rise in mid summer to see thru spikes of large pinkish daisies…great for naturalizing! (Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cotton Candy’ PPAF: Large, pink, pompon flowers.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Crimson Star’: Crimson-lavender petals.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cygnet White’: This is a new and outstanding dwarf, white flowered selection of the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year. In midsummer, the small rosettes of foliage send up flowering stems that are topped with stunning white coneflowers… best when used in a mass planting or blended into a perennial border. (Sun to light shade, Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’ PP 18,429: This new selection of our US native Echinacea purpurea is from Piet Oudolf’s famed garden in Holland. Echinacea ‘Fatal Attraction’ is unique because of the 26″ tall sturdy wine black stems that hold the intense pink flowers…a favorite of garden visitors. Flowering begins in late June…be patient. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Fragrant Angel’ PP 16,054, PVR: This sturdy new coneflower from Terra Nova Nurseries is the white counterpart of Echinacea ‘Ruby Giant’ and the best white coneflower we have ever grown. The giant 4-5″ heads of pure white petals, around a contrasting orange cone, are also deliciously fragrant. Since these are clonally reproduced, each plant is identical for a more uniform planting. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Green Envy’: When Mark Veeder first showed me a photo of his new Echinacea purpurea seedling, I thought for sure this was an April Fool’s Photoshop TM creation. Only after growing and photographing the plant myself, can I say for sure, it is truly this unique. The 20″ tall stems are topped, starting in mid-June, with large 4.5″ wide flowers composed of a dark cone with a green center. Surrounding the cone, are long petals that are pink toward the cone changing to lime-green toward the downward recurving tips. Echinacea ‘Green Envy’ is so weird, gardeners will either love or hate it…we love it! (Zone 4-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Knee High’ PP 12,242: From Tony’s college classmate Kim Hawks, former owner of Niche Gardens, comes a new dwarf selection of the wonderful native purple coneflower. This compact selection is the first coneflower to be vegetatively propagated, ensuring that every plant is identical…no seed-grown variation as long as you remove the old seed heads. Starting in mid-June (NC), each flower head has rigidly reflexed, rosy-pink petals that give a truly unique look to this selection. Purple coneflower is extremely drought-tolerant, although it does favor improved garden conditions. Plant a drift, sit back with drink in hand, and wait for the butterflies! (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Mop Head’ PP 13,560: We are delighted to be able to offer the wonderful white flowered companion to Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’. This mutation of Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’, discovered at Sunny Border Nursery in Connecticut, has the same wonderful compact habit with perfectly symmetrical downward arching heads of fringed-white petals…what a great garden plant. Echinacea ‘Kim’s Mop Head’ looks great when planted in a mass in a flower bed or border. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Red Knee High’ PP 20,411: A mutation of Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’, discovered at Connecticut’s Sunny Border Nursery in 2005. Echinacea ‘Kim’s Red Knee High’ has the same vigorous growth, short habit and attractively reflexed petals of its parent. The name red, however, is problematic…another example of male color-blindness and why you never ask men to describe a color. The color is actually a richer, darker pink than the parent, but nothing close to red. (Zone 4-9)

Although they are not the latest and greatest cultivars, Echinacea purpurea cultivars are still the best.

Post Digger A Handheld Digging Tool

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Fencing can make your home look beautiful. It serves two purposes. First it marks boundary of your home and second purpose is it prevents others from trespassing into your property. For fencing, you have to first make a line and then mark places for setting fence poles. You will need a post digger for this project.

Buy a handheld digging tool that you can conveniently use. Dig the marked places, where you want to put poles for fencing and then set the poles in the holes with the help of concrete. Once the poles are set, you can make fancy fencing matching with your outdoor settings. A digging tool will help you make perfect holes that can accommodate even a large pole in a hassle free manner.

See how hole digger works. It is a tool that has a spiral blade that goes deep inside the earth. This blade can go up to 1 meter deep and if you want to dig deeper, you can add extensions to the tool. It is possible to make up to 4 meter deep holes with a tool but you have to use extensions. You will get extensions and attachments with the tool. You will get at least four attachments and four extensions with this tool.

Form where to buy a post digger. You might be surprised to know that this tool is available at every gardening equipments shop but everyone charges a different amount for this tool. It comes in different power ranges to suit individual needs. But a homeowner needs a light weight handheld tool and not a heavy duty digger for which you will need a helping hand.

Get a quality post digger from a manufacturer. Locate a credible gardening equipments manufacturer on the web and see the kinds of digging tools it is offering. Go through the properties, functionality and usability of each tool and choose one that you are comfortable with. Dont worry about price as you can buy a digging device at affordable price from a manufacturers shop.

Buy a petrol post digger that you can use in a hassle free manner. Advantage of a petrol device is that it works independent of electricity or battery. You dont need an electricity outlet close to the working area for using this tool. Also you dont replacing battery of the tool to keep it going. All you need doing to use a petrol device is keep the fuel tank full.

Why do you need to convert your videos

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Downloading and uploading files via internet is something anyone can do nowadays, due to the perks of technology. Long gone are the times when people did not have access to music or movies, because there was no easy way to share them. Everyone can see the movie as soon as it has been launched, since there are plenty of online channels where digital files can be uploaded, and many more ways in which you can download a file directly to your computer. In addition to this, the era of smart phones is blooming, and this eases even more data sharing in the virtual environment. However, there are some issues when uploading files on a distribution channel, because the format may not be suitable, so you may have to use an mp4 converter. When it comes to sending a video via email, for example, most of the times this is prevented by the large size the video has, and in order to be able to do it without damaging its quality, it is recommended to use a video converter to compress the video without a change in quality. These can be programs that you install on your computer together with additional codecs, but the simplest thing to do would be to use an online converter.

Most of the times, video files must be converted because the original form is not suitable to the device to which they are transferred, or to the distribution channel. Besides the format, the size is also often a problem, because if the file is too large, this represents an obstacle in sharing, storing or playing it, which is why you should think about resizing it. Using a video converter is necessary whenever you have to send a larger video by email, because the compressed version will take less time to upload, and to download, when it reaches its destination. If you use a smart phone, for example, and you want to play a movie, it often occurs that you cannot do this, because the format of the original file does not fit on the phone. Furthermore, many Chromebook users have experienced difficulties in playing certain video formats, since it still needs some improvements to reach the performance of other devices. For this reason, if you are using a Chromebook, you should also use an mp4 converter, to help you change the format and size of the digital files to one recognized by your device.

At the same time, smart phones are gaining more and more ground in our daily lives, due to their versatility and many benefits. The manufacturers know this and they are constantly adding performance enhancing features, such as sophisticated recording functions. Videos filmed with mobile phones are normally recognized by any modern device, but when you transfer them to your computer and depending on its age, it may not recognize their format. This is why you should use a video converter; to make your movies work on whatever device you want. Moreover, a qualitative converter will not diminish the quality of your files: the sound is not altered, and the image is as clear as the one in the original movie, so you do not have to be worried about this.

If you want to find out more about video converter or mp4 converter, please click on these links.

Solar How To Roof Gardening

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Energy is the latest buzzword to garner media attention. Fuel costs are rising, and finding an alternative and economical fuel source is vital to todays economy. Concern for the environment is also at the forefront of the energy issue. Solar energy is both an economical and eco-friendly alternative fuel source.

One simple step in harnessing solar power is planting. Growing fruit tress or having a vegetable garden is a healthy and natural way to use solar power. Home-growing fruits and vegetables also cuts down on grocery bills. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, which helps to clean the air of toxins. This idea can be taken a step further by planting a roof garden. Roof gardens can be planted on the tops of houses, garages or sheds.

Roof gardens help to insulate and retain heat in houses more efficiently than conventional thermal insulation. They also use natural precipitation for water, which reduces run-off and a homeowners sewer costs. Roof gardens also absorb ultra-violet light, which can strip a roof over time.

There are three different types of roof gardens:

o Extensive living roofs

o Semi-extensive living roofs

o Intensive living roofs

Extensive living roofs are the easiest to maintain and require the shallowest soil systems. They are also the lightest and are ideal for sheds or garages. The downside is that extensive living roofs lack the visual appeal of the other two types of roof gardens.

Semi-extensive living roofs are more aesthetically pleasing than the extensive living roof. They require a denser soil and can support different types of vegetation. They are heavier and are more suited to flat domestic buildings.

The third type of roof garden is the intensive living roof. This type of garden requires a strong structure to support it, such as the roof of a commercial building. The soil is denser and can sustain trees and full working gardens.

Roof gardens can be planted on flat or slanted surfaces. When choosing to plant a roof garden on a slanted surface like a shed, be sure to check for adequate structural support. The best types of plants for roof gardens on slanted surfaces are mosses and lichens.

The first step in planting a roof garden is to layer a moisture-retaining protective mat over the area. A root barrier and drainage layer must also be added. The root barrier protects the waterproofing of the rooftop. The drainage layer allows for collection and proper evaporation of water run-off. A filter layer is added to protect the drainage layer from fine particles being washed out of the soil. The vegetation layer contains a zinc-mineral based soil that helps the plants adapt. There are several different types of vegetation to choose from when building a roof garden.

The choice of plant life for a roof garden should be based on the type of garden and the climate. For extensive living roofs, the lightest vegetation is mosses and lichens. These are small plants that do not flower. They can survive in various different climates and are a hearty option. Sedums are the most widely used variety of plant as they are drought resistant. They also change color based on climate change. Wildflower and Calcareous Grassland plants can also be used for living roofs. These types of vegetation need ample space and would not be a viable option for a shed or small garage.

Roof gardens are a natural way to harness solar energy and insulate buildings. They can add style and beauty to a home while also saving a homeowner on heating and cooling bills. Investing in a roof garden or small home garden is an excellent way to save on natural resources and energy costs.