A Bird Garden!!!

I really don't know what gets in to me sometimes.  I just can't sit still.  I HAVE to have a project that I am thinking about or pursuing with all of my energy.  And when you live with your parents (thanks, Ma and Pa!) that can lead to trouble.

I'll never forget the day I decided to rip down the wood paneling in my parents' dining room.  Both Mom and Dad were at work, and let's just say this little project turned really big really quick.  Little did we know, but the hot water heater had leaked in previous years, and the leaking water had run up the walls.  Needless to say, when I pulled the wood paneling off, we had a mess of plaster.  I tried my hand at it, but Dad ended up having to fork out some money that he hadn't planned on.  He told me to tame up after that.

That lasted for awhile, but...

It was time for ANOTHER project at Mom and Dad's!!!  In 2006, my brother and I had given Dad the gift of removing his very broken and warped concrete and step outside the patio door.  (In return, I was given the gift of a lost toenail, an exposed bone, and nine stitches in my big toe.  It turns out a jackhammer really does a number on a foot!  OUCH!!!).  Anyway, no longer having a concrete patio outside the sliding glass door, and with the installation of new vinyl siding on the house, Dad had elected to replace the sliding glass door with a picture window.  As such, there was a large area of unkempt dirt and weeds where the concrete had previously been.

The area where the sliding glass door and concrete used to be.  Time to transform this poor lil' area!

So I had the idea of making Mom and Dad a bird garden.  I wanted to turn the area into a bird paradise!  Complete with a birdbath, a birdfeeder...or three, and plenty of beautiful colorful flowers!

The hopefully very vibrant flowers and garden after!  A pretty simple project that I hope pays off in the future!

So I did just that!  We tilled up the space, pulled out the hundreds of tiny leftover concrete chunks, and planted some flowers!!!  Who knew that flowers could be so expensive and take up such little space?!  The goal was to buy perennials with color for attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and other creatures.  Little did I know, though, just how little space these expensive plants would take up!  I think we spent $100 on the first round of plants...

But the area looks so much better!  And almost as quickly as we put up the birdfeeder, the birds started comin'!  Suet!

Before.  Needless to say, this area of the yard needed some work.

After!  It's a work in progress, but what a difference this has made already!

This had ZERO backyard appeal.

Now hopefully the birds come!

Update!!!

Little would we know it, but this part of the backyard turned out to be quite popular for EVERYONE involved...both us and the outdoor creatures.  The area has morphed a little over the years, too.  Some plants didn't make it, while others have been added.  The cheap birdbath was replaced with a large concrete birdbath with a burbling fountain.  The grill was removed and replaced with gorgeous knock-out roses.  A VERY popular finch sock was added.

And the creatures just keep a'coming!  From Day One, this area of the home has been a hit.  Birds visit throughout the day.  Deer have come to drink from the fountain and eat the corn.  Squirrels LOVE to try and make it up to the birdfeeder to steal the food.  Purple and yellow finches come in droves...it's not uncommon to see more than 10 feasting at a time.  We had a renegade nightly visitor that eluded us for quite some time, always knocking over the plastic birdbath.  We were finally able to conclude that a raccoon was visiting each night and knocking it over.

Two fawns and four yellow finches.

One of the most jaw-dropping sights outside the picture window.  17 deer!

But the best part?  Sitting in front of the window from the inside and watching all of this.  You never know what bird you are going to see, and we have seen them all from brown-headed cowbirds to yellow finches to sparrows to chickadees.  It's just fun, relaxing, and even intriguing to sit inside and watch these birds.  Summer, winter, spring, it doesn't matter.

The plants haven't bushed out as much as anticipated, but they continue to come back each and every year.  Little by little, more are added.  The backyard really has come to life now.  What a treat!

UPDATE NUMBER TWO!!!

So Mom was able to find one of the old backyard pictures from the early 1990's!!!  I then went outside and took a picture of the new backyard complete with the ever-changing bird garden!  What a difference!

The old concrete and sliding glass door.  Also notice the old brown wood paneling on the house!

What a difference!!!  Also notice our knock-out rose additions!!!

Four years into the bird garden (2013), and the plants are starting to take off!  The project is coming together!

Now that we have had the bird garden for just over four years, we can honestly say it's one of the best additions to the house.  The new vinyl siding looks great, but you can't sit and stare at that for too long.  But we have all been guilty of pulling up a chair inside and watching the birds.  We are still hoping for the plants to fill in some more, but they are really starting to branch out now.  It just takes some patience!  :)  And look at those knock-out roses!!!  They have simply EXPLODED!!!