Cleaning your feeders is very important. Dirty feeders can spread disease and also don’t operate properly when they’re gummed up with old seed. With the prevalence of the avian flu and conjunctivitis in Ontario, it’s especially important to clean feeders regularly. Cleaning feeders with hot water and a small amount of bleach twice a month … Read more
This year we’re seeing large numbers of finches. American Goldfinch, Common Redpolls, Pine Siskens, House finches etc. These birds love nyger seed. But it needs to be fresh. And they like feeders with the little holes in them. This also help to keep seed dry and bully birds from throwing everything on the ground. Learn … Read more
On this episode of The Garden Gate we’ve highlighted some activities that you could do with the kids during March break. (Originally aired prior to March break) Puzzles, soap stone carving, paint by sticker books, puppet making, embroidery kits, colouring cards, building a bird house or getting outside to identify some birds and play … Read more
Over the last few years we curated many more beautiful greeting cards for our customers. It seems more an more people are writing letters and sending a little note to family and friends. Many of our cards are also made in Canada and some by local artists. Every day we hear that we have the … Read more
It’s hard to understand how little tiny birds can survive our cold winters. They’re just so small! There are a few things that we can do to help and on this episode I talk about some ideas. Suet, peanuts, hulled sunflowers, roosting boxes and heated bird baths all help to make the lives of our … Read more
We’ve spoken before about buying good quality seed. Plump seeds with large kernels. The birds prefer it! But having CLEAN seed is also important. Our seed is cleaned multiple times both by the grower and our bird food supplier. This means there are very few sticks, dust or other debris. Some box store brands include … Read more
On this episode I share tips on how to attract cardinals to your feeders. I talk about the type of feeders they prefer, their favourite seed and also what trees to plant! Cardinals are a favourite of most customers and it’s the goal to get one to their feeders! We can help. Take just 2 … Read more
On this episode I share some ideas for last minute gift ideas. Beautiful Stitch by Stitch ornaments are always popular. Hand made and Fair trade. We also have an interesting suet feeder that looks like a cute owl, compressed seed gifts for the birds, beautiful soaps and hostess napkins by Michel Design Works, tea towels, … Read more
At this time of year the shop is filled with beautiful gifts for Christmas. One of our favourites are the Stitch by Stitch ornaments. These are hand made in South-East Asia by artisans in their homes. While we tend to avoid items made over seas so we can support our own Canadian artists, these items … Read more
Winters in Canada are tough on birds. They spend all their time looking for food, water and shelter. Anything that we can do to help these beautiful little creatures is a good thing and will help them to survive the cold nights. Birds must eat from dawn until dusk just to survive the -30C nights. … Read more