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HOSTAS ARE HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS THAT WILL GROW IN THE SHADE

Jul21

       When we think of hummingbird nectar plants the plants that immediately come to mind are those that do well in direct sunlight.  However, if you are one of those homeowners that has a shady yard or portions of your yard remains shady throughout most of the day, you will be pleased to know that hostas are nectar-bearing plants that grow well in shady locations. In addition, hummingbirds regularly visit many of them.

       Hostas are native to Asia and are widely grown across Georgia for their attractive foliage.  There are some 70 species and more than 300 varieties of this hard perennial.

       While I am far from a hosta expert, the hostas that I grow in my yard produce beautiful long pink bell-shaped blossoms. Since my plants are pass-along plants, I do not know the name of the variety is rooted in my yard.

       One of the varieties that been people say is a hummingbird magnet is a variety known as lance-leaved hosta (Hosta lancifolia).

       While some gardeners report that the varieties of hostas they grow attract hummingbirds, others say the birds rarely use them. With that mind, if you are looking for a hosta that will attract hummingbirds in your neck of the woods, talk to local hummingbird gardeners as see what works for them.

       Another thing to keep in mind is some hostas are more deer resistant than others are.

       If you are lucky enough to locate the right variety for your yard, please share the name of this special plant with your fellow bloggers.

FEED THE BEES

Jul17

        There is a growing interest in promoting both honeybees and native bees in backyards throughout Georgia.  One way that you can enhance both the number and diversity of bees in your backyard is to provide them with plants that provide these important pollinators with food.

       Here is a list of ten plants favored by bees. They help provide food for bees from spring into fall. These special plants are blueberry, redbud, beebalm, blanket flower, black-eyed susan, milkweed, goldenrod, horsemint, blazing star (liatris) and fleabane.

       All of these plants are growing in my yard.  How many are growing in your yard?

       If you want to promote bees in your neighborhood, encourage your neighbors to plant bee-friendly plants in their yards too.  Studies have revealed that neighborhoods where gardeners plant such plants host more bees than neighborhoods where homeowners do not.

       While all of these plants are rooted in my yard, unfortunately I am certain that most of these plants are not growing in my neighbors’ yards. With that in mind, I need to encourage them the feed the bees by plant bee food plants in their yards too. If they do, everyone in this neck of the woods will benefit.

BACKYARD SECRET – MILKWEEDS BENEFIT MORE THAN MONARCHS

Jul8

      Whenever you think about trick-or-treat it is impossible to think of any other holiday than Halloween.  Similarly, with all of the interest swirling around milkweed plants, we cannot help but think of monarch butterflies when we think of the milkweeds.  This is understandable since the milkweed is the host plant for this colorful orange and black butterflies.  However, ecologists now tell us that a wide range of range of pollinators and other insects also depend on milkweeds to survive.  These insects include the likes of native bees, hoverflies, true bugs, moths, and even ants.

       This is once again an example of how plants and animals are often linked to one another in an unimaginable number of ways.

 

COMMON RUE – THE UNCOMMON HOST PLANT

Jun16

       There is a good chance you have never seen common rue (Ruta graveolens) even though it is a host plant for both black and giant swallowtail butterflies.   However, if you have ever played a game of cards, you are familiar with the silhouette of its leaves (they are the inspiration for the club suit).

       Rue is native to the Balkan Peninsula.  However, it currently grows throughout much of the world.  Although is does well in Georgia gardens, I have found it difficult to find at nurseries.

       Rue is an herb that grows only two to three feet tall.  Its blue-green foliage and clusters of yellow flowers that attract a variety of pollinators make it an attractive addition to a variety of garden settings. In many areas, it retains its foliage throughout the winter.  Rue will grow well is partial shade, in a wide range of soil types, and is both drought and deer resistant.  

       On the downside, rue is poisonous.  While some folks can handle rue within impunity, others break out is a rash and/or blisters when they touch the plant.  With that in mind, I recommend that you wear long sleeves and gloves when handling the plant.  NEVER eat it or use it for medicinal purposes.  If you do, you may rue the day you did.

       My wife and I set out rue for the first time this year in hopes of attracting more giant swallowtails. They join two other giant swallowtail caterpillar host plants (wafer ash and trifoliate orange) that have been growing in our yard for a number of years. 

       If you are looking for an odd host plant to try in your landscape, consider common rue.  However, if you do, be careful how you handle it.

      

      

      

      

BLOGGER QUESTIONS USE OF BUTTERFLY BUSH

Mar3

      Recently I posted a blog advising that this is a good time to prune butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii). In response a The blogger’s posted a response that simply stated that since butterfly bush has the reputation of sometimes being invasive, gardeners should plant native plants as an alternative to this non-native. I am glad the blogger brought up this important issue.

       Butterfly bush is native to China.  It is one of the many ornamentals that have been brought to North America throughout our history.  Unfortunately, some of these plants have proven to be invasive and usurp habitats populated by native species and cause problems for native wildlife.

       In the case of butterfly bush, several states have placed it on their invasive species list.  However, to date, the Georgia Invasive Plant Council has not done so in the Peach State. This does not mean it is not a problem in some areas in the state. If it has, I am not aware of it.  My wife and I live in Middle Georgia and have planted butterfly bush for years.  To date, we have never found any evidence that butterfly bush has escaped confines of our yard.

    It is true that an exotic such as butterfly bush can occupy a spot where a native plant can grow.  In fact, many Georgia homeowners are converting their property to strictly natives.  I think this is a great idea.  Others, on the other hand, are just beginning to realize the value of native plants and are methodically adding more natives to their yard each year.  In the meantime, they can continue to enjoy the beauty of zinnias, glossy abelia, and non-natives that are not invasive.

       There are a number of native plants that you can crow instead of butterfly bush.  This list includes joe-pye-weed, goldenrod, blazing star, purple coneflower, buttonbush, and Georgia mint.

       If you harbor any concern that butterfly bush is an invasive in your part of the state, contact your County University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office.  They can advise you whether butterfly bush is a problem in your locale. If you find that it is, please let me know.

       I want to thank the blogger that brought up this issue.  Deciding what we plant on our property can have huge implications on our environment.  When it comes to invasive plants, we do not want to be part of the problem.

ADVICE FROM A HUMMINGBIRD FANCIER

Feb28

      One of my responsibilities is to evaluate the applications for various categories in the Community Wildlife Project, sponsored by the Garden Club of Georgia, Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, and TERN (the division’s friends’ group).  Recently, one of the applications was seeking certification for a yard. The homeowner wanted to register as a Hummingbird Haven. This applicant went well beyond simply meeting the standards for certification.  In addition, to meeting the criteria with regards to providing hummingbirds with nectar-rich plants, cover, and feeders, she listed four additional actions that she employs to promote hummingbirds.  Below you will find a list of four simple things that each of us can do to promote hummingbirds in our yards too.  Perhaps they will give some to putting into practice some of these actions in your yard.  If you would like to receive an application for the certification for certifying your yard as a Hummingbird Haven, contact Melissa Hayes at Melissa.Hayes@dnr.ga.gov.

  1. We are sure to leave spider webs on plants and flowers so hummingbirds can use them for nests.

  2. We deadhead blooms to keep flowers blooming.

  3. We plant annuals at different times to assure constant blooms.

  4. We encourage friends and family to put out hummingbird feeders.

BEEBALM WAS PLANTED IN THOMAS JEFFERSON’S GARDENS

Feb8

       I am always on the lookout for heirloom plants that have link with our history.  With that in mind, I found that unbeknownst to me, one of the plants that has been growing in my yard for years was grown by Thomas Jefferson.  The name of this plant is beebalm (Monarda didyma). 

       The gardens that Thomas Jefferson designed and built on his plantation known as Monticello are recognized as botanic showpieces.  While Jefferson is known to have experimented with plants from around the world, roughly 80 percent of the plants grown in his gardens were native to North America.  Some say beebalm was planted to attract hummingbirds.

       Although winter has Georgia in its icy grip, it is not too early to plan on what you will be adding to your gardens this spring.  With that in mind, beebalm is a plant you should consider introducing into your home landscape.  This native perennial is beautiful and is a bee. butterfly and hummingbird favorite.

       Now that I realize it is a plant that adorned the gardens at Monticello, when I point it out to visitors to my home, and talk about its value as a wildlife plant, I can tell them it is a plant that was grown by Thomas Jefferson.  In my mind, that makes it extra special. 

 

WAXMYRTLE – GREAT FOR WILDLIFE AND BIRDS TOO

Jan14

      The southern waxmyrtle (Morella cerifera) is a great evergreen shrub or small tree for Georgia backyards.  The plant is attractive and provides food and cover for birds and other wildlife.

       Since this Georgia native grows 3-5  feet a year and can reach a height of 15 feet or more, it can be used to create an ideal natural privacy fence.  If you use it for this purpose, place the transplants 4-5 feet part at least 5 feet from your property line.

       The shrub’s thick foliage creates super nesting sites for birds as well as a place to escape severe weather and predators.

       Female plants produce  1/8” purplish berries that at least 42 species of birds eat.  Some of the birds that dine on waxmyrtle berries are gray catbirds, eastern bluebirds, ruby-crowned kinglets, eastern towhees and the yellow-rumped warblers.  In fact, before the bird’s name was changed, it was known as the myrtle warbler because it eats lots of waxmyrtle berries in the winter.

       Keep in mind only female plants produce the berries. Consequently, if you want your waxmyrtles to produce berries for birds, you must plant at least one male plant.  One male will pollinate all of the female plants within a 40-foot radius.  The problem is most of the plants you purchase will be females.  As such, make sure the folks that sell you your waxmyrtles are supplying you at with at least one male.

       I hope you will give waxmyrtle a try.  It will grow in a wide range of soil types, requires little maintenance and is attractive. What more can you ask?

MEALYCUP SAGE IS A GREAT WILDLIFE PLANT FOR CONTAINERS AND TRADITIONAL GARDENS

Dec10

     One of the many traits I like about gardeners is their willingness to share information with others.  A good example of that is this past week during a conversation with Jean O’Shields (she and Terry Waith coordinate the Community Wildlife Project for the Garden Club of Georgia). During our call, Jean told me about a plant that was still blooming in her Ft. Valley garden long after a recent freeze killed many of her flowering plants.  The plant is mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea).  She was impressed with the plant’s hardiness, beauty, as well as the fact that it attracts loads of pollinators long after most plants were dead or not producing pollen or nectar.

       I must admit that I had never heard of the mealycup sage. After doing a little research on the mealycup sage, I now wish that I had made an acquaintance with it years ago.

       Don’t be put off by the plant’s unattractive name.  Its name stems from the fact that the plant bears cup-shaped flowers covered with a dust-like substance.

       While mealycup sage is not a Georgia native, it is a native of North America.  Its range includes parts of Mexico, Texas and nearby states.  Horticulturalists have developed several cultivars that enable gardeners to choose plants that display flowers ranging from white, blue, dark purple, to two-tone blue and white blossoms.

       The plant blooms from late spring until fall.  Georgia gardeners will be pleased to know the plant is rabbit and deer resistant.  It also tolerates drought, is low maintenance, will grow in a broad range of soil conditions ranging from well-drained soils ranging from alkaline to acidic.  It will even grow is clay soil types.  The plant will grow in full sun to partial shade.

       Mealycup sage is an ideal addition to traditional gardens, borders, xeriscapes as well as containers.  If planted in containers, they do best in three-gallon or larger containers.

       Since the plant will attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, it is an ideal candidate for inclusion in wildlife-friendly container gardens.  Here it can be combined with other plants such as coneflowers and zinnias that are also attractive to wildlife.

       If you create a container garden for wildlife and would like to earn certification in the Community Wildlife Project’s Container Gardening for Wildlife Category, download an application found on the Garden Club of Georgia’s website (gardenclubofgeorgia.org).  When you visit the website, look at all of the other ways in which you can create a beautiful, wildlife friendly, backyard.

       The Community Wildlife Project is a conservation initiative sponsored by The Garden Club of Georgia, The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The Environmental Resources Network (TERN).

A RAINBOW, BUTTERFLIES & AN ENCORE AZALEA MADE A BIRTHDAY EXTRA SPECIAL

Nov29

      This year my wife, Donna, celebrated her birthday on the day after Thanksgiving.  This birthday was very special because we were able to celebrate it with our daughter and granddaughter and two very unusual natural events.

       The day began with light rain falling from the sky.  However, by the time we ventured outside for the first time, the sky was clearing and a beautiful rainbow stretched across the heavens.  We all commented that this was truly a sign that this birthday was going to be special. As beautiful as the rainbow was, it would pale in comparison to what we would see later on.

       Later in the afternoon as my wife and I drove down our driveway I just happened to notice a large cloudless sulphur nectaring at the blossoms of an encore azalea growing alongside the driveway.  As we drove past, I suggested that we park the car and return to take a closer look at flowering shrub.

       Upon walking back to the azalea, we began snapping pictures of the cloudless sulphur feeding among the gorgeous azaleas blossoms.  Almost immediately, we noticed there was not one butterfly present—there were five different species feeding at the large azalea blossoms.  In addition to the cloudless sulphur, we also spotted a painted lady, ocola, common buckeye, and long-tailed skipper.  It appeared that two species of bumblebees were also visiting the flowers.

       It is hard to believe that so butterflies were visiting a single flowering plant in Middle Georgia in late November.  This is because butterfly gardeners in this neck of the woods know nectar is extremely difficult for pollinators to find nectar at this time of the year.  I have known for years that this long-blooming azalea hybrid attracts butterflies late in autumn.  However, never before have I ever seen so many different species of butterflies visiting a nectar plant this late in the year.  This year our encore azalea has produced more blooms than ever before. The stunning flowers coupled with the butterflies left us with the impression it was a living birthday card.

       It is just amazing how a rainbow, butterflies and an encore azalea helped make my wife’s birthday one she will never forget.

     Can find the 3 species of butterflies in the photo?