I wanted to write a post on the benefits of flowers and water. This is a shot of my friend's front yard. She owns her lovely home, and I am still sharing while I am looking for a place to buying and continuing to save. The benefits of flowers and water in your garden are significant.

It makes it a pleasant place to be. This is not an ordered garden, It just grows as plants self seed or as she puts cuttings in and tends them. I am sure that some of these were there before she moved in. Some people want ordered gardens, I am more of the casual look, but can appreciate an ordered garden as well. My grandparents have every different plant in it's own bed and seperated from the next species. Whatever it is your garden needs to be somewhere you enjoy being. Put some ornaments, mosaics etc around. I love having a place where I can hang a hammock under a deciduous tree, it can shade me in the summer and be a warm sunny place to sit in winter.

It brings life into the garden. Flowers and water attract insects who come and perform an essential role in pollinating your fruit trees and vegetables. Many birds also come to eat insects, nectar and hide in the safety of the plants from predators. Kate from Our Red House (see links at the side) has just written in her blog about a nest of baby birds they found in their garden. Growing up we had a family of magpies who would generally produce at least one set of offspring each year. We had a bird bath and natives with flowers outside and could watch as first the parents sought food for the baby and later brought it out to learn to fly.

It keeps your garden healthy. Many of the insects who are attracted to the flowers you are growing will assist in managing the pests in your garden, rather than you needing to resort to a chemical spray which is dangerous for you and your family, and kills off the good insects as well, leaving your garden more susceptible to attack.

If you can build a small pond, you will possibly attract frogs into your garden, who are great company and also great at managing your pests, especially the slugs and snails, which can be harmful for chickens in larger numbers.

Hmm, that's all I can think of for now, but if you can add anything please comment on this post. Ta and talk next week.
Hannah