Recently, as I watched a sweet little hummingbird swoop from flower to flower, I thought about the amazing little creatures' favorite blooms, and the ones I'd actually seen them enjoying.
One flower that specific little hummer was nectaring on was Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), which is very high in sugar content. Known to be one of the birds' favorites, Jewelweed is an annual that re-seeds itself and tends to have good years and "meh" years here. This was a good summer for this plant because we had plentiful warmth and rain.
Another plant I saw that particular bird visiting was Hyacinth Bean vine (Lablab purpurea). It's not hardy in my climate--the seeds or the plant--so each fall, I collect the seeds from the pods and replant them in the spring.
Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia), including 'Goldfinger' shown here, are bright orange-red, which hummingbirds are known to notice. The little buddy in the first photo in this post, from a few years ago, was perched on a patch of Tithonias.
In prior years, I've also seen hummingbirds enjoying Cosmos (C. bipinnatus). And I can see why: They're certainly inviting little beauties with a platform for landing.
Fuchsia 'Marinka' has been a standby in my garden for decades, and I've overwintered two baskets of it in the sunroom for many years. I've enjoyed watching hummers nectaring up through the centers of the flowers, like poetry in motion.
Finally, Zinnias, like Cosmos, offer the little friends perching places and plenty of real estate with rich nectar. To see a previous post with hummingbirds enjoying Zinnias, visit this link.
The hummingbirds will soon be gone, and I will miss them. Their migration activity has been particularly busy the past couple of weeks. I noticed today there are fewer of them visiting. :(
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I love the little guys too! In my garden, they visit Lobelia cardinalis, which is amazingly still blooming, Monarda fistulosa, Echinacea purpurea, and Asclepias incarnata. But I have no jewelweed and was sad that during my trip up north, no seed has set, as I grew up knowing it as touch me not and loved to make the seed pods explode I also noticed my feeder getting low more quickly. Bumblebees have been at the feeder too, which is kind of funny to see.
ReplyDeleteI don't have Lobelia cardinalis in my garden, but I've seen them enjoying the plant at the Arboretum here in town. I've also seen them on the other plants you mention, too, but I had to limit it to six. LOL. 'Touch Me Not' is a great nickname, as well. I love to pop the seeds and watch them fly. :)
DeleteThe Mexican sunflower is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy the bright orange-red of those flowers. I wish they were around much longer than they are here (July-first frost).
DeleteWe are watching epic battles, as migrators are challenging the residents here :-) The favorite flowers here are the salvias and vermillionaire cuphea. Those are two I always have in pots for the hummingbirds!
ReplyDeleteYes, similar here...until yesterday. We still have some (regulars?) here, including a male, but not quite as many battles. I've seen them on my Salvias, too. I've never planted Vermillionaire cuphea, although I've seen it in other gardens. I'll have to look into that. Thanks!
DeleteYour flowers are all beautiful and so colourful, but I really like your photo with the hummingbird, they are such beautiful tiny birds and I wish we had them here this side of the Atlantic. It must be wonderful to have them visiting your garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pauline. They are special little creatures, for sure, although they are tough survivors, too. They even compete with their own offspring for resources once the little ones are independent. I miss them from mid-October through April.
DeleteA beautiful selection of flowers. It must be very exciting to see humming birds visit & enjoy the nectar.
ReplyDeleteThanks. :) Yes, it is a joy to have them in the garden for half of the year.
DeleteThat's surprising, I didn't think hummingbirds liked tithonia and cosmos flowers.... I would have thought more of tubular flowers like you showed the fuchsia or impatiens for example
ReplyDeleteYes, it's interesting to see them nectaring from various types of blooms--whether reaching up through a tubular flower or floating (or resting) over, and poking down to, a flat bloom like a Tithonia or a Cosmos.
DeleteWhat a great theme for this week's SOS, and I can now appreciate just how small a Hummingbird is. Noelle
ReplyDeleteHi Noelle: Thanks...they are inspirational, for sure. Yes, they are tiny little creatures, but so tough and smart. :)
DeleteGreat set of flowers and photos, Beth. Your fuchsia is so pretty, that's a plant I wish I could grow here! Our hummers are here, but the territorial battles are ongoing. We'll have them until mid-October-ish, though I almost always see one or two in November/December. Tina
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tina. :) The Fuchsias seem generally happy here, although I think even we were a little warm for them this summer--with extended stretches of highs in the 90s. We still have some resident (I think) hummers (even a regular male), but the mass migration seems to be past us now. We usually have a few stragglers (females and juveniles) into early October. :)
DeleteAll are lovely choices, Beth. You've reminded me that I forgot to sow Tithonia seeds (again). I've never seen that particular Impatiens and I'll have to look for it. We have one year-round species of humminbgbird here (Anna's), as well as a couple of migrating species. My Grevillea 'Superb' is a favorite source of nectar for all of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kris. It's nifty to know that both the hummingbirds and the people enjoy these blooms. :) I'm so envious that you have hummingbirds year-round. I truly miss them from mid-October through April. My climate is too cold for Grevillea, but now I'm seeing that some varieties might be able to survive to zone 6. So maybe I could grow one in a pot and bring it into the sunroom in winter...
DeleteSadly we don’t have the lovely little Hummingbird here. The nearest alternative is the hummingbird hawk-moth that isn’t nearly as elegant. Your flower shots are all gorgeous, though I’m especially partial to the Tithonias. I’ve never been successful at growing them but next year I could have another attempt, as I’m sure our weather this year would have been perfect for the warmer conditions they like.
ReplyDeleteHummingbird moths are fun to watch, too. We have some species here, as well. The Tithonias are so rich and bright; I'm so glad I started growing them about seven years ago. They can be a little touchy, even in warm weather. They seem somewhat sensitive to heavy wind, so I keep them staked. But my success with them has varied over the years, too.
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