Hummingbirds and Orioles arrive every spring around the 1st of May. Once the days get a bit longer and the weather has warmed up, you’re almost guaranteed to see these beautiful birds! On this episode of the Garden Gate I share some of my favourite styles of feeders and also give some tips on what … Read more
We take pride in ourselves for supporting many Canadian artists by carrying their beautiful items. On this episode of the Garden Gate I share 3 products made from similar product. Stones and soap stones! Stone and silver necklaces by Wendy Stanwick from Matachewan. Stone necklaces by Samantha Butts using stone from Madoc and Soapstone carvings … Read more
May 1st(ish) typically heralds the springtime return of hummingbirds and orioles from their southern wintering grounds. They fly far and hard to get here and benefit from whatever energetic support they can get. If you don’t already have them or want more, we carry a nice selection of oriole and hummingbird feeders. Hummingbird feeder set-up … Read more
Cleaning your feeders is very important. Dirty feeders can spread disease and also don’t operate properly when they’re gummed up with old seed. With the prevalence of the avian flu and conjunctivitis in Ontario, it’s especially important to clean feeders regularly. Cleaning feeders with hot water and a small amount of bleach twice a month … Read more
Spring migration is a physically demanding time for birds. Imagine the physicality of flying from Central or South America with the added challenges of unpredictable food sources and confusing high-rise tower lights along the way. This is a time when readily available energy can literally mean life or death. Bird feeders well-stocked with high-quality, high-fat … Read more
This year we’re seeing large numbers of finches. American Goldfinch, Common Redpolls, Pine Siskens, House finches etc. These birds love nyger seed. But it needs to be fresh. And they like feeders with the little holes in them. This also help to keep seed dry and bully birds from throwing everything on the ground. Learn … Read more
On this episode of The Garden Gate we’ve highlighted some activities that you could do with the kids during March break. (Originally aired prior to March break) Puzzles, soap stone carving, paint by sticker books, puppet making, embroidery kits, colouring cards, building a bird house or getting outside to identify some birds and play … Read more
Over the last few years we curated many more beautiful greeting cards for our customers. It seems more an more people are writing letters and sending a little note to family and friends. Many of our cards are also made in Canada and some by local artists. Every day we hear that we have the … Read more
It’s hard to understand how little tiny birds can survive our cold winters. They’re just so small! There are a few things that we can do to help and on this episode I talk about some ideas. Suet, peanuts, hulled sunflowers, roosting boxes and heated bird baths all help to make the lives of our … Read more
We’ve spoken before about buying good quality seed. Plump seeds with large kernels. The birds prefer it! But having CLEAN seed is also important. Our seed is cleaned multiple times both by the grower and our bird food supplier. This means there are very few sticks, dust or other debris. Some box store brands include … Read more