How easy it is to become excited about prospects of birdsong in spring and a little life and movement in middle of a dreary winter. Don’t let common misconception that birds become dependant on supplemental food from feeders and fail to thrive, or even die, if that food source is taken away hinder you from welcoming these highly interesting and lovely creatures to your home. This is not true! Conclusive studies from University of Wisconsin and Penn State attest to this. Regardless of feeders, birds will continue to forage for majority of their food. In reality, you are providing just a little luxury and ease in relatively short and difficult life span of most birds. Now isn’t that a nice thing to do?

If you’re looking to spark a new hobby, searching for a unique gift, providing an educational opportunity for your children or just want to do something nice for birds, think about birdhouses or feeders. They are just plain charming and fun! Children especially enjoy feathered visitors that birdhouses and feeders bring about. Creating a bird habitat and feeding ground is easy. Rather than sitting in front of your TV, computer or X-box, try enjoying abundant life and nature that can be found as close as your own backyard.

We could all use a little innocence and simple pleasure in our lives these days. Bird watching is an inexpensive, relaxing and enlightening activity for all. Well made and beautiful feeders and houses abound and they make wonderful gifts for any age. Don’t forget to do something nice for yourself either! Feed birds and they will come!

Note - Make sure cats in your immediate area have bells tied around their necks to warn of their presence. (You might also try this technique on annoying neighbors and unwanted salesmen!)

Happy birding!

Balance is what you are looking for. Balance in shape, you don’t want any sticking out way above others, you don’t want one side of wreath to be fuller than other. Try stepping back and looking at a distance and just think “balance of shape”.

The second area to look for is balance of color. This is purpose of doing each bloom all over, then filling in, so you achieve that balance of color. Give another once over to check on that.

Now, this wreath is either finished, or you can add perhaps add small sprigs of dried baby’s breath to it. Really depends on look you want. Sometimes simplicity of only hydrangeas is stunning.

For a grapevine wreath, it’s same principal but a different look. You can tie a bow on wreath if you want (if you do, do so before adding flowers), or ribbon. I like to leave bare spaces on these to be able to see grapevine portion as well. Again, look for balance. You can also add dried roses to it or any other type of dried flowers or grasses too. You can get really creative with these and come up with very different looks. Experiment to your heart’s content.

Many times people expect dried floral arrangements to last forever, and are disappointed when they start looking bad after a few years. This is a misconception. Expect them to look good for about a year, that’s really about all they were meant to last. If they are in direct sunlight it will be a much shorter time. However, next year, feel free to strip old flowers off, and make another with same base for another year’s worth of a gorgeous hand made wreath!