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Posted by Phillip Richards Mar 19, 2007 |
I read a letter in a small local paper the other day detailing what one observant person noticed about a flowering bottlebrush in her front garden. A bottlebrush is sweet smelling and full of nectar.
Firstly the bees would visit from dawn for one to two hours. Yes we want to encourage bees into our garden to ensure fertilization of fruit.
Once the bees had departed a little red capped robin would move in to eat the smaller insects. These little birds are the ones for whom we should provide shelter.
The honeyeaters and friarbirds would arrive.
In this microcosm I see many of the flower, shrub/bush/tree/, insect, bird interactions that occur in a busy bio-diverse garden. Bushes bring birds and bees and probably, less desirable insects. These birds, though, will work your garden reducing the impact of pest insects. It is also possible that, in the above instance, the native tree will draw insects away from the valuable flowers, fruits and vegetables of the garden.