Tracey, Google and find a photo of "Chocolate Rose Silk" morning glory. I like to grow it and "Chocolate" mixed together on a fence. Chandra, I bet the hummers are loving those vines. I always have a garden and yard full of hummers visiting the vines I have scattered around in various places. They generally don't visit the feeders unless it is raining or something since there's so many blooms for them most of the time. Susan, That's a really unique shade. I have morning glories popping up everywhere in the veggie garden, and especially in places where I don't want them. I've been busy yanking them out. I am glad they reseed, but (unfortunately) they can aggressively colonize veggie beds. Tracey, If your Grandpa Ott's is solid purple, then it isn't Grandpa Ott's. It could be the seed was crossed when it was grown by the seed supplier, or that a packaging/labeling error occurred. Scarlett O'Hara ought to be really red too, but as Susan noted, it is getting harder and harder to find seeds of Scarlett O'Hara that give you the original red Scarlett. Here's some trivia about Grandpa Ott's morning glory: Seed Savers Exchange was founded by Kent and Diane Ott Whealey. One of the original seeds they wanted to save and distribute was a morning glory seed given to her by her grandfather---and we know that morning glory today as "Grandpa Ott's". I've linked the SSE image below because that is was Grandpa Ott's should look like, right from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The history in the catalog is a little more detailed that what I typed here so you might enjoy reading it too. Grandpa Ott's is the most prolific reseeder I've ever seen. I bet I yank out hundreds of them from the veggie garden every year, but I also leave plenty and let them climb the fence. They also climb the cornstalks sometimes and even the tomato cages. I leave them when I can and wherever I can because the hummers and other little flying critters love them so. Also, they're simply gorgeous, particularly in August when a lot of stuff isn't looking nearly as good as it did in June. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: SSE: Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory

Caution on the pokeberries. One of those plants that is much harder NOT to grow (at least here in PA) than to grow. Very invasive, very large, too gawky to be half attractive (the berries are a pretty blue, though,) they do stain, I think they are poisonous, and one of my friends told me that in her childhood they called them 'stinkweed.' (Never stopped to smell one.) That said, if you still want them go for it, they might be an improvement over poison ivy. Hmm...seems like damning with faint praise to me. I've been ripping them out for a few years but would be willing to send you seed if I find any I missed...all of it, come to think of it.

whenever I hear people discussing ways to discourage the sparrow I have to ask myself why? As You can easily see from my photo's when there is an abundant supply of food the birds will all mingle well. From my observation it is only when the food is in short supply that they really begin to be territorial. The question then becomes, why is the seed in short supply? No doubt the answer here is simple economics. People don't care to spend a lot of money on expensive birdseed, only to have it consumed by the less desirable birds and they don't get to see the species they are really interested in. From my experience the solution here is to shop around for your wild bird seed. By example, we have a local store that caters specifically to feeding and attracting wild birds. They sell a general mix of wild bird seed for $15 for a 20lb bag. On the other hand, Walmart has 20lb bags of the same seed for $10, however at Walmart it is a seasonal item and by now you probably can't find it. How would you like to find a year around source that has a better selection at prices far below the average retail store prices? In almost every community there is a store that specializes in selling feed, grain and hay for horses or farm animals. When my sister goes to the feed mill to buy feed for her horses I tag along and buy 50# bags of premium wild bird seed (mixed seed & peanuts) for $12 plus I buy a 50# bag of black oilseed sunflower seed for another $13. I then mix the two together and I end up with a premium blend for an average of $.25/lb. If you cannot find a Feed & grain supply in your community check out TSC (Tractor Supply Co.) TSC is also a great place to find feeders of all types for prices far below what you find in the regular retail stores, but then feeders are so simple to build i don't see why anyone would pay the prices they ask in most stores. While we are on the subject of bird feed, you may be surprised at how much you throw away every month without realizing it. When you bake a ham or a roast trim off the excess fat and put that in your suet feeder, the birds love it. At my house we all love to eat acorn or butternut squash. When you hollow out the seeds put them out for the birds, here again, they love it. Making a salad? Save the carrot peelings of the birds and by all means, be sure to save your orange or grapefruit peelings. I have seen a Bluejay grab an entire half section grapefruit peel and fly it up into the pine tree. Stale popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, breakfast cereal and cookies all go over well with the birds and as silly as it may sound, even leftover porky beans, whole kernel corn or green beans will quickly disappear when the birds find them. As you can see, I have taken feeding the birds rather seriously however to tell the truth it is more an means to an end. Since I retired last June I have taken up nature photography as a hobby, and since it is a bit too cold to get out in the woods like i would like to do, this is a way i can bring nature to me while i comfortably sit in the house...LOL. Gein that the subject of this thread was how to attract cardinals I thought i might post a couple more Cardinal Picks, along with one of my favorite pics of a Bluejay.

Okay.......here's what I'm trying now. I have a fake owl in my golf cart shed, to hopefully keep the mice from chewing all the wires. I set it on a pole in front of the window. We'll see if it works. It's so funny.......on one of the windows, she slides down and all you can see is her little head looking through the corner of the window. She's cute...........but still drives me nuts! hahaha I've never had any other kind of bird doing this. For many years, we had an old pickup truck parked by another shed. A male cardinal spent his days pecking at the side mirror. I wonder why just cardinals do it? Maybe their red colors reflect more??