Awhile ago Sweet Pea and I got the idea to hang a terra cotta planter on the side of the shed when we were at Molbaks. They had a vertical row of them filled with Spanish Moss. That gave me the idea to try putting one up high as a nesting place, who knows maybe a bird will think the same way I do? Then I found these letters at Hobby Lobby and thought the word GROW would be a fun one, although I wasn't sure where I would hang them. I think they look great on the back of the shed. It needed some character back there.
The other project is based on our Pear trees. We had lots of blooms on them last year, the only problem was that last spring it was too cold for any honey bees to pollinate them and we ended up with about 4 pears. As you can see it won't be long til these bloom, and the temperatures aren't looking too promising for warming up anytime soon.
Both of the pear trees are being used as scratching posts by our neighbor cats, any suggestions for protecting the trees?
Gracie's projects involve trying to find new places to escape from the front yard.
The need for our pear trees to be get pollinated resulted in me getting to have fun with one of my favorite things... Spray paint! These are the pieces for our new Mason Bee house. We found this kit at the nursery made by Crown Bees, which is a local company. They have a great website with lots of information. You can order houses and bees from them. You can sign up for Bee-Mail and they send emails to let you know when it's time to do things for the bees. We have our bees hibernating in the garage fridge right now.
Here's how the house looks all put back together. Now to find the spot to hang it! This is nothing as cool and exciting as Clare's or Randy's honeybees, but it's as close to beekeeping as we will get. I hope the early spring Mason bees will help get our pear trees pollinated this year. I will be sure to post and let you all know how it goes.
On the Seattle Tilth Facebook page I found a really interesting link to an article on keeping Mason Bees. It's suggested that the bee house is hung at head height to be able to watch their activity which makes this a fun thing to do if you have kids.
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.
Good luck with the bee house. I put up a very small one for native bees and some did use it. Hopefully they survived our strange winter.
ReplyDeleteI think Gracie needs to get busy and start chasing off a few of the neighbors' cats! Good luck with the bees! It sounds like a fun project. I also like your shed. I HOPE I finally get my long awaited for garden shed this year!
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for spring too Catherine ~ but it looks like you are way ahead of us. We just had a dump of snow. :(
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful March!
xo Catherine
I just was reading our forecast and they say we many get a couple of inches of snow tomorrow, guess spring is on hold still.
DeleteCatherine
ReplyDeleteI used Bonide 221 an Aerosol Pruning Sealer to deter Maxi from scratching our new tree. Our cat didn't like the smell and feel on his paws of the spray. Stopped scratching the tree but instead uses our garden bench:)
Bonide is a very effective seal for pruned, grafted or damaged trees, roses or shrubs.
Try it..
Thanks for the suggestion! I will look for it, sounds like it will help heal it too.
DeleteHi Catherine -- to put the cats off scratching your trees, look for the clear plastic carpet protector sheets -- they come in various lengths and widths and they have sharp plastic pimples on one side to keep them secure on the carpet you want protected. Cut to the size you need and then wrap them loosely around the base of your trees, pimple side out. Once the cats realize they will get poked by the sharp pimples when they scratch, they should stop. I don't know if the cats would go right back to scratching once you removed it, but it might put them off for good - worth a try, right?
ReplyDeleteA great idea Jayne! Thanks!
DeleteI can't offer any help on deterring the cats from scratching your trees, I have a hard enough time convincing my indoor kitties to use their scratching post and not the furniture. I love what you did with your shed, it looks great! I'll have to check out Hobby Lobby for those letters, I really like them. I was thinking of decoupaging wooden ones to hang in a protected spot. And good luck on the mason bees. I keep thinking I should give them a try too.
ReplyDeleteI love that spring has pretty much settled in to stay here. I am waiting another week to make sure we don't have a freeze but I am ready to start planting seedlings!!! The garden centers are already full of flowers and foliage, I have to say it would be nice to have snow once in a while though!!
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm a bit jealous. You are keeping busy. I love the projects. The shed looks great! I love the GROW. Thank you for giving me a bit of inspiration. I needed it.
ReplyDeleteYou created a perfect statement with the word on the side of your pretty blue building, and the pot high up too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your pear tree and the cats scratching. Could you loosly wrap the trunk with chicken wire?
I love your shed decor! It's perfect! What a great idea to set up a bee house. To protect your trees from the cats, why not wrap the trunks with several layers of hessian?
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to start some mason bees... not that I really need them with the honeybee hives but I just love how the houses look. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the terra cotta pot idea!! Cute letters and why not put some chicken wire loosely around the pear trees?
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the terracotta planter idea. I could put a few up quite easily, and maybe our silly Flycatchers would nest there, instead of on our porch light like they have the last 2 years! ;)
ReplyDeleteYou'll have fun with the Mason Bees. I love the house, I haven't seen one that shape before. Our Mason Bees are just now starting to hatch out, but with our warm weather the honey bees were really active early this season. I heard of the first swarm in the area yesterday!
Neat little bee house. I'm looking forward to following the bees with you. I've never watched them other than them hanging around my blooms and fruit trees. I bet the birds will like the terra cotta pot. I think Gracie and Buddy should set up a play date. She is precious and looks so much like Buddy. I want to grab her tail. Have a nice day Catherine.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited you are getting bees!! I bought a Mason bee house last year, hoping to attract some but I think I just need to get my own :) Your grow sign is fun and perfect to describe what is happening in your gardens!
ReplyDeleteThe weather in the PNW has been so interesting. Hearing today that we could all get a dusting of snow again is just crazy! I'm going to check out the link you placed on this post for the bees. Cheers, Jenni
Hi Catherine, I love your GROW signs. They're perfect. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the pot becomes a birdie home.
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating about your pear tree. I think there is wrap you can wind loosely around the trunk to keep it from getting scratched. I love cats but they can be annoying. Especially when they're trespassing.
I really don't do much at all with my Mason bees. They're indigenous here and seem to get along fine even without my coddling. I think you'll have great success. They're such gentle creatures and go about their business without bothering anyone. By the time my pear tree starts blooming I've got Masons and honey and bumble bees going to town on it. I'll hope the same for you.
Gracie is adorable. :)
I deter our cats from scratching areas in our house, like the carpet, by making a citrus (lemon juice seems to work the best) spray. 3 parts water to 1 part juice, a spritz around their prime scratching areas, and they don't go near it. It may work to make a concoction and spray it around the perimeter of the tree?
ReplyDeleteI hope some of these ideas will keep the cats off your tree. Poor little pear. Your shed looks very nice with the letters and the hopefully filled bird house.
ReplyDeleteSpring is almost here on this side of the pond Catherine but not quite arrived yet - we woke to fog and frost this morning but the temperature is meant to hit double figures this afternoon. Staying indoors till then. Like your shed letters. We have just planted two pear trees in the garden - had not thought about the cat issue :(
ReplyDeleteI have a Mason bee house to hang as well this year so good advice..thx...I love your GROW sign and I wish my garden would get the hint, but all in good time I suppose!!
ReplyDeleteHow cute Catherine! I love the letters and what a great idea to put a pot up for the birds. Everyone will have fun watching to see if any birds take up residence in it. I hope the snow stays away from your area now.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your projects. I love how the letters and pot look on your shed. You'll have to post on how the Mason bee house works. I keep thinking I want to get one of those. I found an article at work about using bamboo. We'll see whether this is the year I get or make one.
ReplyDelete