Tithonia rotundifolia. Native to Florida, Louisiana, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. NOT native to Virginia but it is a well behaved annual which I try to plant every year. I thoroughly adore it for the many butterflies, including Monarchs, and the hummingbirds that the dazzling orange flowers attract. A bright orange magnet in the garden.
Ice covered berries of NATIVE honeysuckle. Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).
The scarlet berries bring Quail, Purple Finches, Goldfinches, Hermit Thrushes, American Robins, and surely more birds, to the vines which are native to the southeastern United States.
Spring Azure butterflies and Snowberry Clearwing moths use the Trumpet Honeysuckle as their host plant.
And if you’re guessing that Hummingbirds are attracted to the blooms you are certainly correct.
I’m fascinated by the leaves immediately below blooms which are not only opposite but also fused into an oblong shape that creates a cup that can catch raindrops, making silvery pebbles of water. I’m going to experiment with propagating Trumpet Honeysuckle come spring, either by layering and/or by cuttings. Wish me luck!
Within the past two weeks the population of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) here at my feeders, has dropped considerably. I had been putting out two quarts of syrup each day. Now I put out one cup each day. Big drop.
They’re packing their bags. Heading south. Migrating for the winter to Central America and Mexico. And it has been discovered that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s winter location is expanding further north to include the Gulf Coast states up the Atlantic Coast to South Carolina.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds generally live to be between 3 and 5 years old. They learn to recognize the people that feed them, sometimes letting them know if the feeder is empty or needs fresh syrup.
As the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate from north to south and back again they fly alone. They’re solitary birds. Often they’ll return to the same feeders, the same location where they were hatched. I sure will look forward to having them return to their summer home here in the mountains next spring.
Got a spot in the woods? If you do, I hope you have this plant somewhere close by. An amazing color and a beautiful flower. Ironweed. Quite possibly New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), but then again it might be Upland Ironweed (Vernonia glauca), or Tall Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea). These three species all reside in Virginia and to add to the confusion they hybridize. So I won’t go out on the proverbial limb and try to identify which species my photos contain. They are Ironweed!
This photo above is an Ironweed, lakeside at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, in Richmond, Virginia. In less formal settings you’ll find them in ditches, edges of ponds, moist meadows and stream banks. But they are also quite happy on drier mountain slopes that get full or partial shade, as my gardens can attest. If you have Black Walnut trees around, Ironweed is tolerant of the juglone that those trees present as a challenge to gardeners.
In looking very closely at the blooms of Ironweed, I immediately think of itty bitty bighorn sheep, looking out through the intense magenta petals of the disk flowers. Those curlycue, white, “sheepsheads” that I see are actually the split stigmas of each individual flower.
A host plant of the American Lady Butterfly, Ironweed also attracts many species of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. I love having these flowers here in my gardens, both as gifts to me from dear family, and volunteers.
There are four species of Hummingbird Moth in North America, members of the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae). Sometimes they get mistaken for baby hummingbirds. But they are moths that collect nectar during the day. One of the species, in the photograph above, is the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. This moth has a golden back, a chestnut-brown abdomen, and pale legs.
Another species of Hummingbird Moth, Snowberry Clearwing Moth, is pale yellow and black, with a black line running through its eyes and down its sides, and it has black legs.
Hummingbirds that have fledged, or just ventured from their nest for the first time, are the same size as adult hummingbirds. Those that have just fledged from their nest, the youngest that you’ll see flying around, are the very same size as their parents, measuring in at about three inches long. These moths are about one and a half inches long. Not baby hummingbirds but Hummingbird Moths.
Native to all 48 of our contiguous states and a good bit of Canada too. An herbaceous perennial in the mint family American Germander (Teucrium canadense).
Opposite leaves, squarish stem. Typical of the mint family.
You’ll find Bees of the long-tongued sort, Hummingbird Moths, and Hummingbirds them selves, as pollinators. And if you’re looking for a word to impress someone, the flowers are said to be zygomorphic. Meaning there’s only one line along which the flower can be divided into equal halves – creating a mirror image.
American Germander being in the mint family, I would think that the plant’s leaves are edible. But first off, the leaves are bitter. That certainly helps if you have problems with critters browsing in your gardens. And as is so often the case with plants that surround us, it presents a danger. American Germander has high levels of neoclerodane diterpenoid, which causes liver damage. Look but don’t eat!
Soon to be glowing red in a big swath of my garden. Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma). Native to eastern North America.
Attracting hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Fluttering, buzzing and humming.
Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus) aren’t the only butterflies that enjoy the nectar and help pollinate the Scarlet Beebalm. Oodles show up.
A carefree plant that fills the space it is provided but doesn’t jump to other gardens. Well behaved. And for gardeners who would rather not spend time weeding. The plants grow into a dense little “forest” of fragrant leaves crowding out any weeds that might be tempted to intrude.
And those Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. So entertaining. These flowers just seem to be designed specifically for the hummingbirds.
Joy in the summer. If I can’t have my winter, and my snow, I’ll be happy to take the brilliant colors and the wonderful critters.
Tomorrow one hummingbird feeder will go up on my front porch. The time is about right, but I don’t know exactly when to expect my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). I want to greet whoever shows up first, with a welcome mat and a feeder with its favorite syrup. The recipe: 1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup water, NO food coloring.
The season will start out very slowly. Male and female hummingbirds ready for mating season. Females, totally in charge of nesting. Selecting the site, collecting the materials and building the nest. Oh, I wish I’d discover one of those tiny nests. Over all these years of watching hummingbirds. Looking for the nests. No luck. By mid July into August, with juveniles at the feeders as well, I’ll be putting out many more feeders. They’ll be emptied quickly by the entertaining hungry little critters. Keeping me busy with great demand for many bags of sugar.
Many flowers await the hummingbirds as well, not just the feeders filled with syrup. In the image above Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) calls to the incredibly little bird. Also planted around my cabin, Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and a native honeysuckle, Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) provide nectar for the birds.
The hummingbird above is a male juvenile. See his speckled throat? Those feathers will soon become the ruby color we all know and watch for. An iridescent ruby, showing up as black unless the light is just right. I’m so looking forward to having these travelers back. They bring with them luggage. Luggage filled with pure levity.
I love Yucca flowers. There are 2 different yucca species growing in my yard, each blooming in a different season. Yucca filamentosa, which is native to Virginia, blooms in early summer. And this one, Yucca gloriosa, native to extreme southeastern Virginia, blooms in early autumn.
Remarkable that they both are native to this state, since I wasn’t aware of the yucca plant until I moved to New Mexico many years ago. The blooms attract moths, butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. For me the blooms represent special memories of a beautiful state.
A whole season without putting out sunflowers seeds, peanuts, peanut butter, suet. I survive since the hummingbirds keep me entertained. Fifteen or twenty of the swarming, going round and round the cabin, slurping up their syrup. Now they’re gone. Time for the other birds to keep me company again. Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus.
