QUOTE: I used a plug for bottles you put oil in. I had to put silicone around it to make it seal tight. I let it dry over night and then put the feeder together. I then melted a hole in the cap. I got them 2 for a dollar at True Value hardware. That is where I spent the 50 cents. Try to find ones with red tops. THIS IS INGENIOUS!! (and yes, I'm yelling...in excitement). Can't buy the feeding tubes in these parts and ordering online is cost prohibitive. Kinda defeats the purpose & robs one of the enjoyment of makin somethin from nuthin. Ha, gotta couple of these in the kitchen junk drawer & silicone in my handy dandy toolbox plus a bottle I've been saving just for this purpose. I'm off to CREATE. Giddy here...thank you, thank you, thank you Chere. (did I say thank you?) bless ya, ~digger

It appears to be a big year for clear-wings, at least in my neck of the woods. Currently there appear to be three types visiting, mostly using the Brazilian Verbena. There is the Hummingbird Moth, one I think called Snow-berry Clearwing (black sideburns), and another pale yellowish one. There is also a fourth very large kind with a tartan back which has yet to appear. I must admit I like them almost as much as hummingbirds. They tend to visit small flowered plants like the verbena, agastache, and small flowered salvias, with the brazilian verbena the overwhelming attractant. It would be nice to have a guide to clearwings.

ali, what about putting an arbor in and growing a honeysuckle up it? From the edge and in from the driveway to the tree, I'd edge out the grass from that area and curve slightly to the end of the concrete pad in front of your home, the patio area. All the way to the end. Let's give you some curb appeal ;) Put the middle of the arbor in front of the edge of the concrete pad where the car is sitting, about 3 feet in. From the middle of the arbor to the drive and then going up your house, you could create a path that would curve over to the sidewalk and to the front door. For right now, using newspapers and a 5 gallon bucket filled with water, cover up all grass with layers of newspapers you've plunged into the water. Lay them down, overlapping as you go. I typically use about 10 layers of paper. The more, the better. If you can create your path first, either using stepping stones or gravel, lay down something like visqueen and lay the stepping stones or the gravel over to create the path. Remove the grass where the path will be so that nobody trips over stepping stones or gravel. Take out a V shape where you're going into the lawn from driveway to tree and up and over to the end of your home. Remove the dirt and the grass from the V, so that you've got a drop off of sorts and lay your wet newspaper to curve down into the area where the dirt is. Cover the area up with mulch or mushroom compost if you can get your hands on some, except for the path area. By next year, the newspaper will start to decompose and the grass will be dead, but it adds to the organic matter of newspaper and the dead grass. Worm heaven. From now and thru winter, study up on various perennials and possibly a few shrubs that produce berries for our other feathered friends. Next year, push back the mulch or mushroom compost and dig holes to plant. There should be enough room to the right of the path up to your front door, to add in a shrub. Then the other shrubs could go in front of the poles, under planted and going out to the edge with perennials. I prefer natives. They're adapted to our weather, our soil, they make up our ecosystem. Find a list of native plants for your area, and research those plants as to what hummingbirds like and also which ones make seed that other birds will like to eat on. The native plants won't require dead heading, don't need pruned or cut back so they look better....I just prefer them over all. Now an iris in there isn't going to hurt anything ;)...or a peony....both left by the previous owner that I decided to leave and a friend of mine from TN also gave me a beautiful iris that is sentimental to me. But again, those 2 are easy plants. Hummingbirds will love to sit and rest a spell on shrubs you provide and give you a closer look at their beauty. Too much?? Where do you live? Zone 5, but where? lovefornature, you're doing a wonderful job! It's people like you who join GW that make it an enjoyable site to visit. If you like butterflies and are interested in attracting some of them to come to your yard, you could plant a Aristolochia tomentosa or Aristolochia durior. Another plant I love that I don't know draws anything in, but blooms in late summer, is Clematis virginiana. Another neat native clematis is Clematis glaucophylla. I also answered the e-mail you sent, I hope you got it.

See if your neighborhood has a "Nextdoor" or Facebook other online social group where you can get local recommendations (You might not have time for this now, but these groups are helpful for this sort of thing, so find one for the future!). Or ask the guy next door...I'd go independent and hope for the best.