The RainyDayGarden folks love both getting and giving gifts which further that pursuit. However, being in the Northeast, having to wait months before we could put the gardening gifts to use had always seemed a little anti-climatic. So, for this season, we thought we would ask them to offer up some suggestions that gardeners would enjoy, but which can be put to good use immediately.
After giving it some thought, the RainyDayGarden folks suggested bird-feeders and quality bird food. While the gardens sit idle during the winter, birds and other wildlife are still out and about searching for food. The cold temperature and snow can make it difficult for them to find enough to eat. Putting out food for them can bring life to the garden even during the depths of winter. A win-win for everybody!
We have put up many different kinds of bird feeders in the RainyDayGarden over the years. However, our favorites are the glass ones we got from the Gardener's Supply Company:
They look great all the time, but especially so when the sun is out. The birds seem to love eating out of them all year round.
It is a treat to look out the window in the winter to see a blue jay or cardinal sitting on the feeder munching away. However, birds are picky eaters. They will dig and fling out feed they don't like. It is messy, wasteful, and did we say messy? The best way to avoid all that is to put out high quality foods that are high in oil and fat. They give birds the extra energy they need when the temperature drops. The company of choice for that kind of feed is Cole’s Wild Bird Products Co.
Cole’s offers a wide variety of seed, suet and specialty products specifically formulated to attract birds. Their entire line of products is all natural; seed is top of the crop pulls with absolutely no fillers, preservatives, mineral oils, or pesticides.
- Special Feeder - Attracts the greatest number of wild birds
- Blue Ribbon Blend - Best combination for perch and ground feeding birds
- Hot Meats - Feed the birds, not the squirrels...to them you can give peanuts.
For maximum calories, suet is an optimum winter food choice. Cole’s offers no-melt suet cakes as well as suet specialty feed blends adding nuts, seed and other enticing elements into the suet.
Yes, deer and rabbits have to eat over the winter. However, some would rather they don't eat EVERYTHING in sight. For the folks on your gift list who have been losing the battle with the fauna in their backyard, may we suggest you gift-wrap a bottle of Bobbex and put it under their tree (Hint...put it under a tree OUTSIDE)? Bobbex animal repellents are all natural and will not wash off. They are a blend of chemical free-fertilizers and are good for plants, safe for people, but really "odorific" and repugnant to deer and small herbivores.
We hope that after a week of suggestions, you now have some ideas for your shopping efforts this weekend. We will be back next week with another series of gift guides for your consideration. Have fun shopping this weekend! [Permalink] - RainyDayGiftGuide: Garden
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Birdfeeder - Offers 
