A bird bath—the easiest water feature
Many people would like a water feature in their garden. Some opt to put in a garden pond or an infinity pool. Infinity pools are very popular in 2015. A pond, complete with fish and aquatic plants, is a complete ecosystem; as such, it needs careful maintenance to remain healthy and odour-free. The easiest water feature is: a bird bath. Birds, like humans, need water to live. So water is even more important than food. A bird bath is easy to put up and it needs no plumbing. Get yourself a stiff brush to clean it out every day or so, and in no time at all, birds will find your birdbath. Do not worry about mosquitoes and West Nile Virus because mosquitoes need more than 48 hours to go from eggs to larvae to mature adults.
Get yourself a good quality bird bath and it will last you for decades. A cast concrete bird bath costs about $200; ones made from granite or other stone will cost ballpark $300 to $400.
As a gardener, you are likely to find watching birds interesting and frequently hilarious. Children love watching birds, too.
Best of all, once you attract birds to your garden, they do a brilliant job of getting rid of unwanted insects like slugs that chew through hostas, earwigs and lily beetles that destroy your beautiful flowers. You won’t have to spend money on insecticide to get rid of garden insect pests.
Many birds that are vegetarian during the rest of the year also eat insects and feed them to their young during breeding season. That’s nature’s way of getting extra protein to young birds that need it. Bugs are better in bird tummies than chewing through your garden.
