THE LAZY LADY'S LOW-LABOR GARDEN

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Wild birds, on the other hand, can help you to control insects during the day. They'll eat just about any bug that moves . . . and will sing for your pleasure, too. If you want them to work in your garden, just provide nesting sites and water. (A stream is best, but a small birdbath will do if it's kept really clean . . . and you can put up birdhouses if there's not much natural shelter nearby.) The backyard songsters will also need high places to perch near the vegetable patch. Garden fenceposts make great lookout towers for insect-hunting birds, and a few tail poles set among the rows will provide similar vantage points.

Chickens — another source of garden help — are birds of a different feather . They're great weeders and cultivators . . . and will eat grubs, ants, or worms with gusto! However, they can be too thorough at scratching and cultivating if they're not controlled. If let into the garden early in the season, your hens may well wipe out all of your newly sprouted seedlings. (Last year, my birds got into the garden in May and ate every tiny chard, beet, and Chinese cabbage plant in sight.)

By the time your crops are well along, however, chickens will be the best allies you can have. Their dirt scratching will control weeds . . . they're efficient and methodical insect hunters . . . they'll eat your household food scraps and provide wholesome fresh eggs in return for the privilege of sharing your garden. The biddies will even supply fertilizer while they work. Chickens require minimal housing and care, too, and the hens, at least, are quiet creatures . . . not inclined to roam.

Even city dwellers may be able to keep a limited number of chickens around . . . you'll find that some towns will allow it, and some won't. When they do, city ordinances usually specify that premises must be maintained in clean and sanitary condition. A call to your local health department will tell you whether you can keep a flock. (And for more information on raising chickens, see the article on page 94. )

IN CONCLUSION. . .

Of course, even if you follow all of my tips, you'll still spend hours in the sun (or perhaps during the cool of the evening) with shovel, tiller, or hoe . . . turning the soil, building its nutrients, and planting the good seed. But time spent in such pursuits will keep you in touch with the earth. I no longer begrudge my hours of garden work, because I know there'll be plenty of time left over for the other things I need to do . . . like taking long walks down by the river.

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