The Goldfinch and the Zinnia

Apparently they like yellow flowers. It seems they like orange zinnias too. We have a very small balcony garden composed of three coco lined baskets that hang from the back of the chairs. We fill the baskets with spikes, and other annual flowers and hope for the best. The crows have a tendency to go after the cocoliners! They also like to hide stuff and they squawk a lot whenever we are outside. Rarely do we get other types of birds since we live above the second floo. Once in a while a morning dove stops in and a sparrow. So we were surprised to see what we thought was a female goldfinch hanging around the orange zinnia. We noticed it one day around mid morning. It must have liked whatever it was looking for and eating because it returned the next day about the same time. But this time she was having more than a feast. She devoured my zinnias! I was just commenting about how pretty the flowers were looking. And there she was - pulling one petal out after the other until just the centers were left. I really like birds of all kinds but was quite distracted by this one. Maybe it was because we have so few flowers to begin with. I suppose it was worth watching the bird have a good time. I’m glad it doesn’t care for the other flowers. I wonder if it will return? 

Pruning the Balcony Flower Baskets

We have three small coco lined “window” baskets that hang from the chair backs on our balcony. We aren’t allowed to put anything on the glass rails so this was a reasonable option - if you like flowers and keep the space open on the floor. Earlier in the spring we planted a few annuals along with the ivy and liriope leftover from the fall and winter Christmas decor. It was satisfying to see that the perennials survived! The red begonia continues to do well, but the gerbera daisy and the zinnia need attention - aside from the daily waterings. Since they sit on the west side of the building the flowers are exposed to intense sun and heat. So yesterday I decided it was time to prune back the well worn flowers - and hope that they start to come back. It was the second time to snip down the daisies, but the first to clip back the long lasting zinnia. It has two buds that I hope will continue to grow. We always had a garden snd this one meets the need - and it’s just so nice to nurture and switch up for the seasons.