Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2024 i Birds & Blooms

One day in early spring, I was looking at the birds at our sunflower seed feeder with my 3-year-old on my lap. OK, if I’m being totally honest, the feeder was on the ground after being knocked down by one of our resident, incredibly well-fed squirrels. We watched as several juncos and a lone American goldfinch enjoyed easy access to the spilled seed. All of a sudden my son said, “Where is the red feeder?” I was taken aback. Did he really remember the sugar-water feeder that he hadn’t seen since September? We did talk a lot about our hummingbirds all last summer, but I was still surprised that he recalled it. I explained that it wasn’t quite time to put out the red feeder yet, but that I’d definitely…

1 Purple passionflower PASSIFLORA INCARNATA, ZONES 5 TO 9 Hummingbirds love the passionflower’s intricate blooms, while butterflies flock to the vine as it is a larval host plant. Gardeners in the northern portion of its hardiness zones may not see fully formed fruit on this plant. It’s a native perennial that’s drought tolerant and grows in full sun or part shade. Why we love it: The intricate blossoms can be cut and placed in small vases. 2 Clematis CLEMATIS SPP., ZONES 3 TO 9 This cold-hardy vine is available in a wide range of colors. Different clematises bloom anytime from spring to frost, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. These vines need “warm heads and cool feet” in the form of full sun in moist, well-draining soil that has been mulched or underplanted…

I spotted this magnificent fellow on a camellia tree outside my front window. After grabbing my camera, I went out on the deck and took several beautiful shots, including this one. Mike Anderson ARCATA, CA One beautiful late-summer morning in Tucson, my husband and I were sitting on our back porch with our camera when we saw this male Costa’s hummingbird. My husband captured this gorgeous photo of him on our orange lantana, which was producing berries. What a delight it was to see that he was sticking his tongue out! Carolyn Heard TUCSON, AZ This little rufous hummingbird was quite a character and a big bully! He sat on that branch surveying the feeders and chased away all other hummers. He gave me a lot of enjoyment, and this…

PLANT BENEFITS This speedwell will perform in many places in the garden, including a border or mass planting. But it also serves as the thriller in a potted combination. Magic Show Ever After Spike Speedwell Veronica hybrid, Zones 4 to 8 One of the longest-blooming speedwells available, Ever After features almost 1-foot-tall purple flower spikes that extend the growing season from early to midsummer. The flowers are self-cleaning so they will always look fresh for the pollinators that love it. Attracts: Light needs: Part sun to sun, but flowers best in full sun. Size: 14 to 16 inches high and about 20 inches wide. Grown for: Lavender blue flowers. Cultivars to try: Other Magic Show speedwells include White Wands and Wizard of Ahhs, which has even bluer blooms than Ever…

Sweet, juicy strawberries are a delightful summer treat—and are easy to grow in a home garden. These productive plants are perennial, returning year after year, and depending on the type, can provide months of mouthwatering berries. Planting a strawberry patch can save you lots of money too! Pick Your Type There are three main types of strawberries: everbearing, Junebearing and day-neutral. Everbearing plants fruit in early summer and again in autumn. Junebearing plants produce a heavy crop of large, juicy berries from late spring through early summer. Day-neutral strawberries produce a modest but continual harvest from the late spring through early autumn. To encourage vigorous plants, pinch all flowers that develop on Junebearing plants that first year. With everbearing and day-neutral varieties, pinch flowers until late June and then let…

Q How long do birds live in their nests? Linda Johnson DEL RIO, TX Kenn and Kimberly: In general, birds don’t live in their nests the way people live in their houses. For most birds, the nest is like a cradle: a place to incubate their eggs and feed their hatchlings until those baby birds fly away. Then the nest is usually abandoned and never used again, and the parents build a new nest for their next attempt. Some large birds such as eagles and herons may use the same nest year after year, and some hole-nesting birds such as woodpeckers and chickadees may sleep in those holes at night year-round. But in most cases, the nest is simply a temporary child-care structure. Q This plant has been growing in…

Not to be outdone by its relatives, the broad-billed hummingbird is one of the most stunning in its family. The males sport vibrant emerald bodies, iridescent sapphire throats and bright red bills tipped with black, and the females deserve equal admiration with their sleek gray bodies and a distinct white line next to each eye. “This is the wow hummingbird of North America,” says Dan Weisz, an expert naturalist, photographer and volunteer presenter at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. And they’re not all that hard to see most of the year as they flit from backyard feeders to their favorite native flowers. Going the Distance The broad-billed hummingbird lives predominantly in Mexico and southeastern Arizona, but its range is expanding as more birds overwinter in the U.S. They’ve also turned…

Rufous hummingbird COLORS Uniformly orange back and tail on adult males, though some have glimmers of green. TAIL FEATHERS Second feather from middle has a notched tip that’s visible when the tail is fanned out. BEHAVIOR Males dive in oval shape around perched females; can show variation when practicing or defending their territory. RANGE Covers a wide swath of western states, including Alaska and the Rockies. Allen’s hummingbird COLORS Overall a mix of orange and green on adult males; females and juvenile males are nearly identical in hue to rufous. TAIL FEATHERS Outermost feathers slimmer and pointier than the rest. BEHAVIOR Males repeatedly form a “J” when flying around perched females. RANGE Restricted to West Coast in breeding season and Southern California and Arizona during migration. MORE MIXUPS Ornithologists have…

What you’ll need: thriller Rockin’ Deep Purple Salvia hybrid  Quantity: 1 filler Diamond Frost  Euphorbia hybrid  Quantity: 1 spiller Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid  Petunia hybrid  Quantity: 1 Exposure: Part sun to sun Seasons: Spring, summer, fall What you’ll need: thriller Angelface Blue Summer Snapdragon Angelonia hybrid Quantity: 1 spiller Superbells Blackcurrant Punch Calibrachoa hybrid Quantity: 1 spiller Supertunia Raspberry Rush  Petunia hybrid Quantity: 1 Exposure: Part sun to sun Seasons: Spring, summer, fall What you’ll need: filler Laguna Compact Blue with Eye  Lobelia erinus  Quantity: 2 spiller Superbells Doublette Love Swept Double Calibrachoa Calibrachoa hybrid  Quantity: 2 spiller Silver Falls Dichondra argentea Quantity: 1 Exposure: Part sun to sun Seasons: Spring, summer, fall What you’ll need: thriller Angelface Blue Summer Snapdragon Angelonia hybrid Quantity: 3 spiller Supertunia Bordeaux Petunia hybrid…

Find the Hummingbird In each issue, we hide a hummingbird like the one above left. Enter to win at birdsandblooms.com/contests if you find it. Winners get a one-year subscription to Birds & Blooms. In the April/May issue, we hid it on page 43. HIDDEN OBJECT GUIDELINES No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on May 22, 2024, and ends on July 23, 2024. Visit birdsandblooms.com/contests for official rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Contact Us! CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@birdsandblooms.com Visit:…

1873 Russian thistle, better known as tumbleweed, accidentally came to the U.S. in 1873 and spread rapidly. Today, it infests approximately 100 million acres, especially in the American Southwest. 2 An invasive plant has two characteristics: First, it is nonnative to the ecosystem, and second, it causes or is likely to cause harm to humans, the environment or the economy. 159 The invasive aquatic plant Elodea, which chokes out native vegetation, could cost the Alaskan sockeye salmon industry as much as $159 million a year. 500 Himalayan blackberry is invasive in the Pacific Northwest, forming impenetrable thickets of up to 500 canes per square yard. 2.7 A single invasive purple loosestrife plant can produce more than 2.7 million seeds annually. 5 Giant hogweed’s leaves grow up to 5 feet across.…