I caught the culprit at last!!!

Boy was I mad. I went outside and noticed some animal had dug a HUGE hole in my Shasta Daisy area. The hole is like a tunnel and it goes underneath my daisies and you can see their roots. I immediately blamed Buck the Rottweiler dog. He gets blamed for everything.... I immediately covered the hole. The next day to my surprise, the hole was there again!! As I walked up on it, I noticed dirt was flying out of the hole! At last, I am going to caught the culprit!





If you look closely at the next picture, you can barely make out the guilty one!






IT'S CHARLIE THE TURTLE!!!

Artichoke Flower in Full Bloom

Here is a picture of one of my Artichokes in full bloom. I think the flower is so gorgeous! Most people don't give it a chance to bloom, they pick it and eat it before it has a chance to bloom. I have one plant to eat and one to enjoy these spectacular blooms! Isn't it just beautiful??

China Tea Cup Bird Feeder Winner is............

Wow, thank you so much for all the posts and sweet messages on my very first Giveaway! It seemed so fitting to have Alabaster the bird pick the winner in the Tea Cup Bird Feeder. He didn't hesitate to pull out the winner!

He didn't want to give up the slip, but after promising a cookie, he finally turned the winning name over to us! The Winner is Rose Marie at the Sugarplum Cottage! She is a fellow Farmgirl at Maryjane's Farm. Congratulations Rose Marie, please email me your address so that I can ship to you this adorable China Tea Cup Bird Feeder! Can't wait to see a picture of it in your yard!

My First Giveaway!

Here is my first giveaway! What else for the gardening lover? This is just adorable. It's a China Tea Cup and Saucer that I have made into a bird feeder! (I sell these in my Etsy store.) Will look so cute in your garden. Fill the tea cup with bird seeds and the birds just love it. Or you can just leave it empty for a cute Cottage accent to your garden! Just post on my blog that you would like to be included in the drawing. I will draw the name on Wednesday Night the 28th of May. Have a Great Memorial Weekend and good luck!

Love, Anne Fannie

I am Crazy about Birdhouses

One of my passions in my yard is displaying Birdhouses. I am crazy for birdhouses. I make a lot of them myself and I am always looking for cute unusual ones in the store.

My Backyard is a Certified Backyard Habitat for wild birds. Habitat restoration is vital for wild birds and other wildlife due to our commercial and residential infringement on their natural areas. I am not a wildlife nut, I just enjoy watching the wildlife and letting my Grandchildren enjoy it, so creating your yard into a desirable area, the wildlife will come no matter what size your back yard is!

To turn your backyard into your own wildlife habitat is easy. All you need is to provide the 4 basic elements: Food, Water, Shelter and places to raise their young.

Consider shrubs and trees that produce seeds, fruits and nuts throughout the year. Provide nectar producing plants for hummingbirds and butterflies. Supplemental feeders should also be offered with seed, duet or nectar. I like doing this to keep them from eating my fruit off my trees!

Water is a very important part of your backyard habitat. You need to offer several sources of water. I have several pedestal bird baths that are automatically filled up with a drip system. Even a shallow water dish placed at ground level is good or a small pond. These same water sources will offer an aquatic habitat for dragonflies, frogs and other aquatic life too.

Providing shelter will create your backyard into a place where they will not only visit but want to live. Wild birds want to feel safe, so provide safe havens from predators.

You also need to provide places to raise their young. You need to put out functional nesting boxes. Putting out butterfly and ladybug hibernation boxes will also encourage these beneficial insects to stay in your yard.

Right now my yard is so busy with birds singing and sitting on their eggs in their nests.

It is so enjoyable. But of course, you also have the stupid birds, with all the birdhouses and nesting boxes and areas you provide, they still pick the most stupid place to put a nest....like the wreath on your front door!

COME SIT IN MY GARDEN

Come sit in my garden and enjoy all the flowers around you......

Huge Shasta Daisies. They grow 3" to 4" across! Known for

long season of blooms has flowers that stand tall from spring

to late summer. Great for cut flowers too! Divide plants on

a regular basis. Will keep coming back year and after! Don't

forget to cut off dead flowers to promote more blooms!

Gerbera Daisy. Comes in so many beautiful colors! This is

a salmon color. Grows best in part sun with plenty of water!

Also can be grown in shade with lots of light. Makes great

cute flowers too!

Calendula - Vibrant daisies in yellows and oranges. Grows

best in part sun. Multiplies every year!

Lanai Red Verbena - Blooms cover the plant. Good trailing

plant, water frequently, grows best in part sun.

Passion Flower Vine - What a great climbing vine. Grows fast,

has huge 3" purple flowers. Blooms spring through end of

summer. Attracts lots of butterflies!

Lemon Sugar Marguerite Daisies. So sweet, grows in a bush,

very hardy, almost maintenance free!

Huge Artichokes - I have 2 artichokes plants. One I use for

eating and the other one I let the artichoke go into bloom. It

makes the most beautiful huge purple flower! Just spectacular!

I will post a picture when it blooms!

Red Rose called "Showbiz". It is so beautiful. Deep red roses

cover the bush! I have 9 of these roses in my yard, 8 in a rose tree

lining one of my walkways and one in a bush by the Koi pond.

Decorating With Vintage Hankies

My sweet friend Maryjane at The Beehive Cottage asked me on her blog to post a picture of how I have decorated with Vintage Hankies.

In my Laundry Room, I wanted a cheery bright curtain valance that did not take away from my view outside. So I decided on Vintage Hankies. I first put up a rope, like a clothes line across the top of the french doors. Then I hung up Vintage Hankies and secured them with vintage clothes pins I bought at a Antique Store. Up above the door I painted a shelf green to match my cupboards then I put on it all vintage laundry items I have bought at Antique Stores.

I love Vintage Hankies and this is a great way of displaying them!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all my sweet friends I have made on this Blog.

Love, Ann