This is not my idea.I found it on the internet and it sounded interesting. Bird bath make over Spruce-up an old concrete birdbath by giving it a bath of color. Simply take a blue-green oil based paint (Sherwin Williams #2257 works the best) and thin it with 75% mineral spirits. Then brush the mixture onto the concrete surface. Once the paint dries and has fully soaked into the concrete simply smear the entire birdbath with vanilla yogurt. (SEE who said I can't cook!!) Now it will be ready for the final touchÂa good burial! That's right, just dig a hole and bury the birdbath for about 2 months. When you dig it up, the yogurt will have aged to a mossy green color and the thinned paint will be a perfect accent color for the new "ANTIQUE" birdbath.

Where in south Louisiana are you? I'm in Lake Charles, same zone as you. Heliconia Schiedeana is root hardy for me in a protected spot with a southern exposure. But it has not bloomed in 3 years (was growing it in a pot when it bloomed) A frost will kill the stalks but it almost immediately begins to put out new stalks, even in the winter, when it warms up between fronts. Heliconia Rostrata, the hanging lobster claw heliconia, is marginally root hardy in the ground. It can withstand temps around 28 to 30 for a few hours and survive but anything below will kill the stalks. It will begin to regrow in May but both of these heliconia bloom on second year growth so your chances of getting them to bloom is marginal unless you provide some protection. I cover my Rostrata with a portable greenhouse during the winter and add an electric heater when it drops below 32 and mine are blooming now. I don't protect Schiedeana. The orange bird will do just fine for you. It will survive 24 with a little leaf damage. The white one is a little more cold sensitive. I have two plantings of both. They are protected from frost but get the full force of the north winds. They won't look too good coming out of winter. Just trim them up and they will do fine. The orange bird blooms in the late summer or early fall for me. The white bird starts showing blooms in late winter for me but I've had them bloom all year long. I'm not familar with the canna. Steve

Thank goodness. The problem isn't so much with taking the lives of the birds. The problem is what happens with any bb's or pellets that miss their mark. You could do alot of damage, and even injure someone, especially if you're aiming higher than level.

OK thanks, my next question for these white BOP / Strelitzia Nicolai is do they kind of grow like bamboo and put up new shoots? Does it "run" from one spot to the next or does it stay pretty much within the clump area? So it's OK to cut one (or even both) of the tall ones back to the base of the plant and just let the new short plants be? I am asking because I am thinking of putting up a wood deck in that entire area, but build the deck such that there are holes around where existing plants are. For example, I can build a round or square hole around the palm, but if I put a hole around the BOP what will that do to the clump? Will it choke out the plant if it can't find new places to extend or will it confine it's growth to the area inside the hole? Here is a picture of what I am thinking. Bad idea?