I am well aware that when one talks about a bug house, bees and wasps tend to jump into mind. True! Bug houses tend to commonly refer to the nesting of bees and wasps. What is not usually mentioned is that a bug house can also refer to a bat house. So much has already been mentioned about bee keeping and why one needs to have a hive for bees to thrive in. However, the subject of bats and their habitat is seldom talked about. This poses the question -Is there any significance of building a bat house in a neighborhood?

While this may come as a shock to many, having a bat house in your area has numerous benefits. This is especially true if you happen to live close to a pond and are constantly plagued by mosquitoes. It is a well known fact that mosquitoes tend to breed in standing water and ponds are no exceptions. Instead of moving from that area, you can have the brilliant idea of keeping bats. Now, while the bats will take some time to get accustomed to the area and the bat house, they will certainly make a great contribution to a healthier environment.

Scientifically speaking, a bat has been known to eat up to a thousand mosquitoes per night. And that’s just one bat. Now try and imagine what ten bats can do. If it came down to the choice between tonnes of pesticides and a few bats, I suggest you lean towards the bats.

Here are a few things you should know about bats and bat houses. One; bats are quite harmless. In fact, the presence of a bat is an indicator of a very healthy environment since they are sensitive to high pesticide levels in the environment. Two; if you do decide to keep a bat house, ensure that you mount it at least twenty feet off the ground. This can be on top of a building or a tree. Three; about the bat design, ensure that the landing surface and the interior surface are rough to enable the bats to cling easily when landing and roosting.

Finally, have a certified bug house made. A certified bug house is a bat house that is constructed with the best materials and dimensions. We have lots of certified bug houses which are tailor made to handle all sorts of bats and other insects as well. For more information feel free to check us out. We look forward to serving you.

Garden Accent Heaven hosted residents from Fairwinds  Brighton Court retirement community who came to visit Linda’s Serenity Garden on Monday July 25th. The ladies had a enjoyable time walking through the garden and asking about the various flowers and other plants.

This was my own creation to combat the cold wet spring we have had and still get some tomatoes!  The tomatoes will grow up the netting between the two poles.  When it is cold, the tent over the plants keeps them happy and growing.  When the sun is out, I can roll up the sides of the tent, and let the bees come in to stir things up a bit!

Photo one shows my favorite netting ordered from Abundant Life catalog.  It lets me easily reach through the large spaces to pick my successes!

Want to know how I secured the row cover to the netting?  I used a needle and thread and did a simple long basting stitch across the top!  And the clothes pins keep the sides in place on those sunny days!

If these sewing terms are new to you, check in with your Gramma!  You need to call her any way!

This photo shows one side of the row cover rolled up. Notice the large square pattern of the netting. The netting extends between the two poles and is seven feet high and six feet long. The netting extends below and above the gathered up row cover.

Both sides of the netting rolled up.

Both sides of the row cover dropped down for the night to keep my tomatoes about 5 to 10 degrees warmer.

The other side of my row cover tent.

Cold weather protection.

When you live in the Pacific Northwest and this spring has been as cold and wet as last year, what is a gardener to do?

My winter reading of all those garden supply catalogs has paid off!  Under that cover are egg plants, Sweet Basil,  cucumbers, and zucchini squash, all plants that like hot weather.  The row cover raises the temperature 5 to 10 degrees during the day and keeps the plants warmer at night as well.  One more tactical move was to lay “green mulch”  down before planting which also keeps the ground warmer at night and during the day.

Bob cut PVC pipe the right height, stuck them in the ground, and the tension against the sides of the raised bed is perfect.   All I did was cover the hoops with row cover material.  When the plants bloom, I will need to remove the cover so the bees can do their thing!

I do not have to deal with too many insects so I was not concerned

Another variation of cold weather protection.

about a really snug fitting cover without holes.  I used medium pieces of wood to weight down the edges.  Did you see the old fashioned cloths pin hooks to keep the wind from blowing off the cover?  Pretty clever, huh!

Both the green mulch and the row cover were purchased from Growers Supply catalog.

Clivia Lillie from Africa, bring inside for winter.

I absolutely love flowers!  I have them everywhere.  Which translates in to “I have to have a way to say no” to all the beauty available in catalogs and at nurseries.  I had to set some parameters for myself.

I have a fairly small yard so only the smallest dwarf versions of shrubs can be considered. Being more diligent in purchasing plants that fit my light conditions was another given.  I needed to control my successes and failures better.  When buying perennials in season, most plants are $10.00 to $25.00 and that is for the more common ones. Some budget controls are in order.

No matter how much I might long for all the flowers in the catalog, I narrowed my selection of plants to blooms and seeds that attract birds, especially hummers, bees and butterflies.  I have selected plants that bloom at different periods during the summer to keep a food supply for the hummers. If the bloom has a fragrance it is more likely to find residency in my yard.

I try to reserve some space for winter interest with texture variations, height, or being an evergreen plant.

My mother had many iris so I have to have them, violating all my parameters.  And then there are the lilies with so many colors, blooming periods and varied heights.  Needless to say, I have several Oriental Lillies for their heady fragrance and long lasting blooms.  I planted a couple more this spring.  After all, they were on sale!

When I garden, I make my own rules and then bend them just a bit here and there when my resistance is low.  Mostly, every gardener needs to enjoy each and every plant.

Row of Day Lillies along front walk way, continuous blooms all summer.

Asiatic Lillies.

Asiatic lillies.

Asiatic lillies.

Tiger Lillies

Tiger Lillies.

Fragrant Nicotiana placed by the back door, started from seed.

Highly fragant Star Gazer Oriental Lillie.

Tall pink blooms are Bee Balm, simply loved by bees and hummers.

Asiatic Lillie

Iris