The Avant-Garden Shop: Your Garden & Bird Store

Back Yard Bird Watching

What We Need to Know About Feed (aka Not All Seeds Are Created Equal)

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Many important factors determine the quality of bird seed. At the Avant-Garden shop, our customers tell us again and again that after switching from cheap big box store seeds to the quality feed they find at our shop, they see immediate improvement in bird activity and variety at their feeders.    The majority of the … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 319 – Keeping Grackles and Starlings Out! (May 23, 2025)

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Lately we are seeing lots of grackles and starlings around. If you don’t want them taking over your feeders, we have options! Some feeders like the Squirrel Buster Plus can be adjusted so the weight of the grackles close the feeder. This can definitely help slow down their seed consumption! We also have caged feeders … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 318 – Orioles & Hummingbirds are back ! (May 9, 2025)

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Hummingbirds and orioles are back! As per usual schedule they arrived at the beginning of May and we’ve been hearing all about your sightings. A lot of other migratory birds are now arriving and it’s so exciting! In this episode I show you a couple of the feeders we have available. Many feeders account for … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 313 – Customize Your Bird Feeding Station (February 28, 2025)

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We’ve got everything you need to set up and customize a great quality bird feeding station that also keeps the squirrels off of your feeders! If you want to use a pole we start at the ground, and find the right spike for your soil type. Next you add the pole, making it whatever height … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 310 – Seed Cylinders! (January 17th, 2025)

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A very popular feeding option for our backyard birds are seed cylinders! These are made fresh by the company that brings our bird seed every week. Woodpeckers, blue jays, nuthatches and chickadees really love these. Ingredients like hulled peanuts, meal worms, cranberries, sunflower seeds and safflower make them very attractive. Approximately 3lbs of compressed seed is held together in each cylinder so the birds really have to work away at them. This means we get to see them at our feeders longer! There are many different ways you can hang or add a cylinder to your feeding station. Pop by the shop and we’ll find which one is right for your birds! ** Please note, some birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

** Please note, some birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

GARDEN GATE: Episode 309 – The Best Bird Seed For Winter (January 3rd, 2025)

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As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and colder, birds have to eat from dawn to dusk to have enough energy to survive the nights.  Offering fatty seeds like hulled peanuts and sunflower seeds are some of the best options to provide quick easy energy to the birds. We also have a Niger seed blend with chips of the hulled sunflower which is very popular with finches. It’s also a great time to give your feeders a good cleaning as you can expect a heavier flow of birds. Checking your feeders often for freezing and clearing off the snow really helps them have easier access to the seeds. Doing this will help you see many different birds enjoying themselves at your feeders this winter!

** Please note, birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not all be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

GARDEN GATE: Episode 308 – Feeding Birds (not squirrels!) in the Winter (December 20, 2024)

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It’s getting colder at night so during the day birds (and squirrels) are busy eating and storing up energy. The Squirrel Buster Plus, (which really is squirrel proof!) is a great feeder to use to keep the squirrels from gobbling up all the seeds before the birds get a chance. When a squirrel gets on the feeder its weight closes off access to the seed. Our Seasons Woodland blend is a great option to use in this feeder, offering a mix of high-quality fatty seeds for all the birds visiting your feeders. This Buster holds over 5lbs of seed and is adjustable to also keep out some of the bigger bully birds.

Feeding suet in the winter is especially tough, as it is VERY attractive to the squirrels. The Squirrel Buster Suet feeder helps to solve this problem! It comes with two suet cakes, can be adjusted for different weights, and like all the Squirrel Busters, has a lifetime warranty against squirrel damage! Stop by the shop and we’ll show you how they work!

GARDEN GATE: Episode 306 – Canadian Made! (November 22, 2024)

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Over the past 22 years The Avant-Garden Shop has been building up a wide collection of Canadian Made items. As much as possible, we will support local and Canadian artists because this supports our local economy and community. When you shop locally and purchase Canadian made items, we are then able to donate to the … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 305 – Suet & Seed Cylinders! (November 8, 2024)

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Suet, seed cakes and cylinders are a great feeding option for the colder months. Birds really love the quick energy boost they get from suet, peanuts and sunflower seeds! There are six different kinds of our premium suet from Mill Creek. They have only the best ingredients that birds love, including mealworms and fruit! Suet … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 304 – Bird Seed Quality Makes a Difference! (October 25, 2024)

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When the birds are happy, we’re happy! To keep them happy and healthy a good quality seed can make a big difference. The seed at the Avant-Garden shop is fresh weekly from Mill Creek Seed Co. This is a family business specializing in wild bird food. Every blend has been specially formulated using only the … Read more

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