The expression “(Strictly) for the birds” is an idiom for something worthless or ridiculous and believe it or not, this idiom works well with today’s topic because today we are going to look at those worthless dead flowers.
We the North are preparing for Winter. Some parts Canada have already been” blessed” with major snow falls but we on the East side have been spared, so far!
In our last post we gave you ideas about what you could do with those leaves that looked so pretty on your trees but not so pretty once they leave your tree and decorate your yard. Then you see them in a different light. Find out why you should you leave those leaves?
Today’s question: ” To cut or not to cut”.
Read this before you answer that question. It just might give you something to think about. If you’ve already prepared your beds for Winter, then maybe it will change your mind for next Fall.
I don’t know about you but it always seems like when I “discover” something, I’m one of the few people who didn’t know it. So i’m sharing for the other few who don’t know. 
Usually preparing for Winter involves cutting perennials, uprooting annuals and general cleaning of flower beds. If you haven’t read our post on fallen leaves, leave the leaves, give it a read. Learn how your garden bed will benefit from being a little dirty!
So here’s why I stopped cleaning my beds, “It was a cold and rainy Fall day…” Just kidding. I was just tired. It’s been a rough few months and I just decided to leave the clean up until the Spring. As the Winter went on and on and on and on AND ON!!, it really bugged me to see stems of dead flowers and plants stick out from the otherwise clean white snow in my backyard but it was too late to do anything about it now. I every time I looked at it, I regretted my decision to leave the clean up to the Spring.
Then one bright and beautiful winter day, I had a change of heart. Suddenly those old flowers didn’t bother me quite as much. I was just standing there, looking out the window into my back yard, lamenting the 4 feet of snow in the yard, counting down the days until it melted and then I saw it.
A lone Chickadee, on what I thought was just a ugly, dead, useless Echinacea flower sticking out of the snow. There was this little guy chowing down on the seeds from this dried-up flower, on a plant I was too lazy to cut down. Soon he was joined by a few more of his Chickadee buddies and it was a Chickadee chow down. I just stood at my door watching and smiling. Who knew? Certainly not me!
Ever since then, I stopped cutting them down. I leave the Echinacea’s and other seed producing plants through the Winter.
It’s a little thing that costs you nothing but means a lot to our feathered friends. If your’e not sure if the birds eat seeds from plants currently in you garden, just keep and eye out during the summer. You’ll see which plants they prefer.
I also leave sunflowers plants but by the end of the season the Goldfinch do a great job of cleaning those out, so there really isn’t many seeds left by the time Winter comes along.
I hope that this post changes your mind about removing those plants from your garden.
Remember it’s About Bloomin ‘Time. (Somewhere 🙂 )
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