Talk & Tour: Cottage Garden with Wildlife-Friendly Ideas from Heather Rogers #gardentour #birdgarden

Hi everyone. I'm here tonight with Heather Rogers in the backyard of her house, and I don't believe that the park is only a few years old. The park is very big, well maintained, and beautiful. Thank you. I'm very interested to hear how you build it and how you can do it very quickly. Absolutely. I started in a certain area in the park and gradually worked on it over a period of about three and a half years. Wow, that's amazing. So when you move to this house, the whole backyard is empty. Is that true? True. Yes. Wow. Grass. Wow. Dot. So, where did you first plant? Did you plant some annual plants or bushes? Or how did you start? First, I plucked sick trees. Wow. No. So, I plucked five sick trees. Then, it started during the pandemic and I planted some annual plants on the south side of the park there. Okay. To see how it turned out, you have to test it when you move to a new place. You have to test where the sunlight comes from, what kind of exposure, and how the soil is, how the soil is, and certain places throughout the park have better soil than others. The one close to the house is very visible. And when you work on it, the one closer to the back is very extraordinary. The soil is very good, beautiful, black soil. Yes, but the soil looks heavy near the house. So, did you move some annual plants from your old house or start with some plants that you had planted before? All new. I don't think there's any left now that's here when I moved. Wow. Okay. So, you planted some annual plants along the property and how about the hydrangea flowers? You have some beautiful hydrangea flowers here. I planted some hydrangea flowers here and there. I spread it. Once again, test? No. Because this is the north side of the house. That's the south side. Okay. Yes. But the sun in the hottest season sets here. So, this will really be exposed to the morning sun. So, this is a hydrangea flower, vanilla strawberry. That's one of the first bushes that grew. Okay. Then the Sundae vanilla flower. So, both are here. No. The hydrangea is not there at that time. So, you plant it later after telling me about you? You told me that you have some problems with rust. Rust. And cracks. Rust and cracks pressure. Very high here. So, I immediately realized that the hydrangea needs to be installed to protect my precious plants. So, I planted it. I want to say maybe two years around 2021. After a little heartbreak. Yes. And it just planted something here and there. You know, I will plant something and if it works and the result is good, it will be fine and will last. And if not, it will come out and I will plant something that works. Okay. So, when you have something that you know works, will you get more or will you do it because I have noticed quite a lot of repetitions? Like the very good part. For example, Walker's Lone Pida. I put it everywhere in front and behind the house and it grows quite well here, but there it grows very big and open. Okay. The middle part, you know, is a bit dead and not like that here. So, I replaced it, tested various things to find out where they grow best and where they can grow a little better. I'm still curious how you can make everything grow fast. The soil, of course, you say is not too good near the house, but it must be quite good in this field because they grow fast. I have about five tons of soil that was thrown away on the way in and I have a waste bin, a waste bin. You know, like a waste bin and just brought it back here and started throwing it away. Wow, I just cut the grass very short, put it right on top of the grass and then planted it inside. So, how high is your BMS? So, how high is it? Maybe six inches BMS around it. I don't know if I'm really going to call it Buram. Okay. Every time I plant a new seedling, I then change the soil in the area. So, okay, when I plant something, the soil is also changed, dot. So, and it's not as deep as this. The depth of the seedling also increases over time because, ah, this is wide or ... Yes, the seedling is getting wider over time. Okay, I'm a plant collector. I like to repeat it. So, I plant hydrangea flowers everywhere. How? I try to spread my dark leaves around. My golden hydrangea. So, repeat some color schemes and textures like that, dot. Yes, we are talking about how you are a quilter and in my opinion it means you have eyes for design, color, and pattern and you can know it when you look around and how the composition is here. It looks like you like to make designs. Yes, all year round. Yes, and talking about all year round, this garden really has a lot of variations so it really makes it possible to attract interest all year round. I have made my semi-season garden a little rarer than I wanted. So, that's what I plan to do this fall season, which is to add more daffodil flowers. I don't dare to plant tulips because it's a hassle and a nuisance. Nuisance. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Exactly. Yes, I understand. I also notice that you have a lot of daffodil trees scattered all over the place. It must be very nice in the cold season. Indeed, indeed. And me, that's what I really want from most of the garden when I start it, which is daffodil trees. Yes, my Pinterest inspiration board is mostly daffodil trees because I like the attractiveness and texture that it offers and it's there all year round. But I don't know how I fell in love with daffodil flowers and I started to like daffodil flowers and when I started working in the garden, you realize the wild animals underneath it. Yes, and I like it. I'm a bird watcher, so I feed the birds. I have registered the property to the National Wildlife Federation and Otabon Society. So, I don't use chemicals. And you have a lot, I see you have a lot of daffodils here in this garden. Yes, so junipers have daffodils. They don't have many this year, but they were really full last year. So, the birds like daffodils there. Viburnum angur brandy has daffodils and I have a daffodil wing. I might have about 100 of them here in early February. They're just, I want to say, in an hour they've been cleaned. It's a real gift, you can see it. I have to add another one. So, there's another small one in it. So, I have those three stages. Perfect. I have a redwick dogwood tree that also has daffodils. Then, um, so I also see some sunflowers spread out here and there. The birds must also like it. Yes, dot, yes. And that's a sukarela flower from a branched sunflower. I think it's a Ruby Eclis sunflower. Oh, okay. Like young red? So, the flowers are more. There are more flowers in the branch. So, you're not just going to continue to bloom throughout the hot season. Okay, yeah. And if I don't feed the birds and daffodils in the morning, they'll come out here and eat my sunflowers. They'll eat them for lunch and dinner. Yeah, yeah. So, I have, I think there's two left behind here. So, I see a few up close, too. Some big-headed sunflowers. Are they taken from bird feeders? Interesting. And you mentioned that when they have seeds, you cut them. Yes, I cut them. I leave a little stem and I slip it along the fence. Then the daffodil will eat the bird's head, the goldfinch's bird. I like that bird. The goldfinch likes it. It's very cool. So, bird feeders along the fence. Yes, yes. You have a farm here. It's a functioning farm. Yes, it's good. Very good. It's useful. So, it's also new. A few years ago. Yes. The farm was installed, then the fence was installed. Okay, okay. And after the fence was installed, that's when I started doing it on this scale. Because you can be sure that the daffodils won't walk along the fence, walk along the fence and take their own food. Yes. Smart. Well, the farm, I mean, it's hard to use, but it's very beneficial here and the way you surround it is very beautiful. And this, eh, we're talking about Hepticodium 7 Sunflower here. Yes, it's a beautiful specimen. Thank you. Very beautiful. And I like the tree skin. I also like the beautiful and healing Once again, it is one of the plants that has attractiveness in various seasons. No, I mean, you can rely on something and when all the leaves fall and fall, you can rely on it. it will eventually become a kind of small tree. Yes, maybe 20 tons high. There is someone outside the environment across the street. He has one and it is very, very high. It will be higher in the farm. Yes, it's good. Very beautiful. So, there are some plants that I think we can talk about here because they are very good specimens. I think maybe we can tell us your secrets. So, the first is this Serendipity Allium. That is perfect. They may bloom here next week and will be fully bloom. I'm sure you can imagine it. So, how many have you shared or I share? Yes, then they are ready to be shared again. And I have removed some other examples on the side of the farm. I have some and they don't grow as I want. So, I dig them and I think that's the second way to get here. So, I plant the three together. Okay, then move it. Good. Good when something you believe will grow well. So, you know you can share it and spread it. That's good, practical and also good from a design Yes, you have a lot of beautiful Dillis. Are you interested in a certain color or style? I think young red and peach are my choice for Dillis. I have some very soft yellow and that is being mixed again. Ah, that's my pink color, peach. I really like the middle part that is yellow and my peach flowers there also have a yellow middle part and they seem to shine especially on cloudy days or at night. However, they need to be rejuvenated. Good. Yes, and I plant it from a long Okay, and this is a good year for Dillis because we have got so much rain. Yes, but they can be relied on Even when we experience drought, they can be relied on enough for me. Yes, Dillis in general can be relied on here in Iowa. No, but they grow quite well. Dillis and Hosta. Yes, yes, it's not wrong. This is a beautiful nine-leaf plant. Really a great What variety is this? This is a nine-leaf Uhu, and it's probably two feet high when I planted it. How long has it I think this is the third full year. Maybe four, but for sure it's a happy Yes, and this is part of the good dillis and the dillis really like dillis roots can grow better. That's another thing I've experienced. They grow better in fertile soil and what you plant here grows better than what you plant in the field next door. Yes, that makes sense. I call her Tina. Tina because she's a vine. Vine is very sweet. I like her. She's very and in the semi-season you can even see new growth here. This vine is shining. It's really true. And then the fruit, there is a small with a red grape on top of it. It's very beautiful. We plant in next I try to not cut too much because the branches will fall apart and you will experience it. I don't do that. I am very careful when cutting this one, but it still Yeah, we got a lot of rain last night, so they're a little heavy. So, you really left a good framework for them to... Yeah, have strength and structure. Good, yeah. So, this is an amazing place. I'm very happy you shared it with us and very happy to be visited. Have you ever sat? I have, I have. This year we experienced a lot of rain, humidity, and fog. That's right. So, not too many years have been wasted because everything is beautiful because of the rain. But usually, yeah, at night, I'll be here until dark. On your little terrace here, it's very nice. And has a beautiful view out of the park from your rotten sofa which is good and the water feature is good right next to it. So, the sound is good. I like the sound of flowing water. Birds are attracted to flowing water. Another part of keeping the park for wild animals is by providing flowing water, especially flowing water. One day when I was here, I saw a lot of bees. Flying in the air chasing mosquitoes. Good. We have a lot of bees. Then there was a canary bird that flew over there to catch the bees. Entertainment that never stops. Yeah, yeah, thank you. Many have shared your park.