The Avant-Garden Shop: Your Garden & Bird Store

Garden Gate: Episode 200 – Salt Box Shoppe rustic bird houses (Oct. 9th, 2020)

Every couple of years we head to the Lake Huron area to camp or visit and attempt to see some of our artists who live and work in the area.  This year we were able to visit two after camping for a few days at Pinery Provincial Park. First stop was to see April Gregory … Read more

Garden Tips: Fall migration’s on its way

As we move into fall, the birds begin their move for the winter. Although there are still plenty of American Goldfinch and Northern Cardinal young begging for food, most of this year’s hatchlings are now fully independent of mom and dad and are footloose and fancy free. As young disperse from their home base, the … Read more

Garden Gate: Episode 197-Dog Bite Steel (August 28th, 2020)

https://youtu.be/XHaGrlrJeG8 We always have a great time visiting with artists J.P Schoss and Brenda Tucker of Dog Bite Steel.  Our vehicle comes back packed with great pieces!  And they never last long in the shop. Made from recycled propane and oil tanks, these colourful pieces add some quirkiness to your home or garden and are … Read more

Garden Gate: Episode 196-Using compressed seed cylinders (Aug 14th 2020)

A few years ago our bird food supplier created these marvelous seed cylinders. They are made with the same great quality bird seed that we receive fresh weekly from Millcreek seed company, located in Ontario. 2-3lbs of quality bird food is compressed into these seed cylinders. Birds such as woodpeckers, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, pileated … Read more

All that Glitters IS Gold

American Goldfinches are the latest-breeding songbird species in this area. They molt their feathers a second time in the summer, which is unusual for most bird species and leads to increasingly bright colours as the season progresses. Their song is a cheerful musical babbling, and their flight call – po-ta-to chip! po-ta-to chip! – is … Read more

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