Friday, May 21, 2010

Bye Bye Birdie

If you remember, I mentioned that our past gardens had been plagued by birds and squirrels. So far, I haven't seen evidence that we're having the same problem this year, but I am trying to be proactive just in case. 

My friend told me that her grandmother tied aluminum pie plates to the tops of her stakes to scare away the birds. I googled this idea, and found that it can be effective. I also read that other gardeners have been stringing up old CD's in an effort to keep birds away. It seems the birds don't like the noise, the movement, nor the shine given off by the pie plates or the CD's.

Thinking about these three factors, and because a large part of the enjoyment of gardening for me is simply spending time admiring how pretty the garden is, I came up with an idea that meets ALL of these criteria. 

Noise? Yes, a beautiful tinkling sound.
Movement? Yep.
Shine? Uh huh.
Pretty? Yeah, baby!


Living in a town full of junk souvenir shops can have its perks. It's super easy to get your hands on these capiz shell wind chimes on the cheap. So far it seems to be working. I haven't seen any birds hanging out in the garden. We'll see what happens when the itty bitty green tomatoes start ripening. *fingers crossed*

10 comments:

Amy @ Lucky Number 13 said...

oh, i hope it works for you! it is so disappointing when your garden is taken over by birds/animals...good luck!
have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

I think I'd like to come live in your garden. The ballerinas would like me, I promise.

p.s. Are you on FB?

knack said...

perfect solution my friend! way to go ....function and fabulousness all in one!

Hope your garden continues to grow and flourish!

xo

sloan said...

Sounds like a win-win ... soothing sounds AND gets rid of pests - nice! I'll stay tuned to see if it works, might have to try it out up here!

hope you got my email?

Bring Pretty Back said...

The squirrels are a big problem for me! Thanks for the tips!
YES! sort through that drawer! Keep the pretty and get rid of the rest!
Have a pretty day!
Kristin

Caitlin said...

you should totally join in on the RAW(E) fun!!! It's super easy to link up and you get to see a lot of other great photos too! Incase you don't already know, it's Sailor & Co. who hosts the "contest" if you will. Sailorandcompany.blogspot.com :-) thanks for the comment!!!

Kim said...

Thanks everyone! I hope this works too.

SS- I'm not on FB. I'm hoping to be on all the talk shows one day as the last human on earth not to be on FB. I'm sure I'll cave one of these days.

Sloan- I'm sorry. I didn't get your email until today. I need to check this email account regularly.

Kerri said...

Your solution looks a million times better than those aluminum pie plates! Plus, I think you have to be "retired age" to have one of those in your garden!

Just noticed that you live in Virginia Beach...how lucky are you?! We have a vacation planned this summer in Virginia at some resort...(never been there before)but I can't think of the name!

Life in Rehab said...

I've been scrolling through your garden, and I just love how orderly and bright it is.

Seizing My Day said...

just poking around your blog ~ love the keeping it real attitude!! ;)
I love to cook fun stuff... but my kids eat very little of the fun recipes!! ha ha!

love the bird scaring technique! fun wind chimes!