A prime motivation for gardeners is a love of plants. But many of us also relish playing our part as curator of our piece of ground and, ultimately, sharing our garden space with others.

This summer, my husband, Jerry, and I are hosting families of Eastern phoebes and barn swallows.

The Eastern phoebe pair arrived first. We weren't thrilled with their nest location choice—just above a casement window rendering the crank-out option useless—but we so admired their industriousness that we gave them carte-blanche.

Over many days, the phoebes made countless flights and painstakingly brought bits of detritus from the surrounding woods and fields. Their finished nest is a masterpiece. It cantilevers out several inches from the house and is covered with beautiful layers of soft moss.

The barn swallows followed shortly thereafter and chose an apt location...above the door of the pole barn. They were equally industrious in building their cantilevered affair but the outcome was vastly different in style and mood (think New York loft compared to the phoebe's thatched cottage). This nest is made with globs of mud.

Both species have been amazing to watch. The barn swallows are excellent fliers—agile and quick and speedy, too, in their zealous quest to capture bugs. The phoebes are darling. When they land on favorite spots like the trellis or the roof, their tails bob up and down. It seems as if they're thoughtfully considering their next move.

Nestlings are now visible in both nests and we feel so proud.