poisonous to gophers. Be careful with the latter two,
however, as they are also very toxic to children,
especially infants.
Birds, bees, and other animals—Sow thistle attracts birds.
Some birds are vegetarian, and some are omnivorous.
The omnivorous birds may stay for a main course of
insects after a seed snack. If you are having trouble with
birds eating the berries in your berry patch, you could
erect a wren house in the middle of it. Wrens are
insectivores, and they will not bother the berries. But
they will attack any bird, however large, that comes near
their nest.
Hummingbirds are attracted to red 'owers. They
especially like the tiny, red, torchlike 'owers of the
pineapple sage in our garden. Bees may be attracted by
hyssop, thyme, catnip, lemon balm, pot marjoram, sweet
basil, summer savory, borage, mint, and blue 'owers.
Once in the garden they help pollinate.
Animals are good for the garden, too. Their manures
can be used as fertilizers. Chickens are one of the few
reliable controllers of earwigs, sow bugs, pill bugs,
snails, grasshoppers, and maggots, though you may have
to protect young seedlings from chickens pecking tasty
plant morsels.
Companion planting in all its aspects can be a
complex and often mind-boggling exercise—if you worry
too much about the details. Nature is complex. We can
only assist and approximate her in our creations. If we