Birdseed
The Percy blog
Birdseed
Observations from the garden. The kind worth keeping.
In the garden
Seasonal, practical how-to: what to plant now, and when to start.
A Garden Journal App for Kids That Gets Them Outside
Skip the pretend garden. Percy is a garden journal kids can just talk to: they say what they notice, photograph what they find, and it remembers it all.
What to Track in a Garden Journal: 10 Ideas
10 ways to use Percy, the garden journal that remembers: log plantings by talking, identify plants and pests, get advice for your garden, and set reminders.
When to Start a Fall Garden (While It's Still Summer)
Learn when to start a fall vegetable garden, how to count back from your first frost date, and which crops to sow now for a fall harvest.
Fall Flower Gardening: What to Plant Now for Spring
What to plant in a fall flower garden — spring bulbs, perennials, hardy annuals, biennials and cool-season color — and how to time it for your climate.
How to Keep a Garden Journal You'll Actually Stick With
A garden journal (or garden diary) makes next year's garden better — if you keep it. Here's what's worth writing down, when, and why the paper ones fail.
Ecology & native plants
What belongs where you garden: the natives worth planting and the invasives worth pulling.
Plant ID Is Only the Beginning
Plant identification is only the first step. Discover how Percy adds native and invasive plant context, personalized advice, and a garden record that remembers.
Percy Joins 1% for the Planet
Percy has joined 1% for the Planet, committing 1% of annual revenue to environmental causes, with support for Homegrown National Park and The Wildlife Trusts.
What Is a Native Plant? Why "Native" Depends on Where You Live
What "native plant" actually means — why a plant can be native in one place and invasive in another, how to tell what belongs where you garden, and the difference between native, non-native, and invasive.
Why Fall Is One of the Best Times to Plant Native Plants
Why fall is a great time to plant native perennials, shrubs and trees, sow native seeds that need cold stratification, and choose plants that are truly native to your region.
Most of What You've Heard About Monarchs Is Half Right
The monarchs coming through your garden this fall don't need milkweed — they need nectar. Here's what actually helps the southbound migration, starting today.
Accidental Stewardship
You probably didn't plant your zinnias for the bees. But once you learn how much your small patch of earth can do for the world, it's hard to unlearn it.
What a Plant App Owes the World
The same plant that's an ecological hero in one place is a wrecking ball in another. Why Percy celebrates natives, flags invasives, and says when it isn't sure.
Field notes
Essays from the garden. The kind worth keeping.
In Defense of Not Gardening
I took my laptop into the garden to get some work done. I got none — because the garden was full of other gardeners. On bees, black swallowtails, and how noticing quietly turns into care.
The Night We Almost Kept a Deer
Some of what a garden gives you can't be planted or harvested — like the evening a baby deer showed up in the flower bed and the children tried to keep it.
The Things I Meant to Write Down
Every October I try to take inventory of the season. I'm starting to think I've been writing down the wrong things.
Enjoy your garden. Percy remembers it.
Free for your first growing season. Then $39/year as a Founding Member, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. The price will rise as Percy grows. Yours won't. No credit card required. Your data is yours regardless.
