Obscure Mailbox, Bumblebee Eater, Cypress Flowers, Rainbow Peppers

My mailbox is getting hard to find.

Sylvia likes to eat bumblebees. If you look closely at the leaf next to her arms, you'll notice a couple balls of pollen from a bee's hind legs. I guess she doesn't like pollen. I get mad at her but she can't help it. Mantises will eat anything that moves.

I stills get a kick out of these flowers and the lacy leaves.

Rainbow peppers are very pretty and VERY hot.

Racing to get a Photo

Whenever a hummingbird appears, I have seconds to snap a photo. This morning was better than most. I gave up stalking them months ago.

At this point they seem to prefer cypress vines.

 

She's looking at me.

 

Looking again, my auto settings made this overexposed but I like this picture anyway.

 

Rake Lawn Ornament

This rake struck me this morning with beauty as the cypress vine wound its way through it. I found it in the trash like so many garden things I am using.

The confusion of plants below are nasturtium, basil, monarda, calendula and marigolds. I have denuded the 2 tomatoes in this planter so that the other plants are not overshadowed. Some believe that tomatoes with less leaves produce more tomatoes and are less susceptible to disease.

All of these plants seem to be benefiting from the bokashi I have buried below.

This photo is much better seen full size.

Hummingbird Lures

I have for the most part dedicated my porch to luring hummingbirds. The height is reassuring to them as I have more than 3 cats that lurk my yard. So far I have had both blooms and birds on my Brazilian sage and my anise hyssop. My cypress vines have yet to bloom though they are growing fast. I have not seen any partake of my lantanas but they are pretty and in my temperate climate, not invasive.

 

Porch Chaos and Hops Buds

Here's a window into my porch, my main center of potting and planting. I seem to have an ongoing fight with myself to eliminate small seedling pods. I keep planting things out and then acquiring new plants somehow.

The majority in this 1st image are Siam queen and lemon basil. I was at a nursery in Washington county that had some pots with 50+ seedlings crowded together which I couldn't resist buying and dividing. Most are planted out somewhere.

Next is the front wall. The salvia guaranitica keeps getting bigger so I keep moving the pots next to it further and further away. I think I have it settled now. This black and blue sage is a magnet for hummingbirds. I have seen 3 this past weekend make a beeline for it and spend considerable time feeding at more than a dozen blooms. The cypress vine is starting to climb so I poked bamboo into the planter for them to reach a good height. I hope that it makes a good screen.

Here's my secondary table with some now empty vases. Projects on this table include future bean seedlings. I decided to pod plant them 1st because the cats often disturb bare soil in bad ways(I mostly suspect SALLY). Better to let these get a little bit of growth before placing them in their final spot. There's also a couple black and blue stalks that broke when I poked the bamboo in that I am trying to root. I think I want a planting or 2 on my back porch to better see more hummingbirds.

And finally, the cascade hops are getting ready. It looks like we'll have a lot more than last year. Many of my wild hops are starting to show similar signs. I should be able to sex them soon.

Dawn

This morning I got up as the sun was rising. Unfortunately many photos I took were under exposed but it makes choosing easier.

Today I intend to dig up a large part of my berm. This part, and angle looks pretty nice. I have a few orphan plants that need a home, as well as a couple butterfly bush. I just need to make sure that people understand not to step on some of these plants.

Yarrow is fine with being walked on, as well as chamomile, if anything I should encourage people to walk on my chamomile to keep it in line. I will attempt as well to reduce the grass and various weeds, that is plants that I do not favor.

Maybe next year I will have less chamomile. I imagine that I will not need to propogate it any any manner anywhere next year. This spring, I actually transplanted a lot of seedlings all over. Behind the chamomile is one of my mint pots.

Here's Abe giving me a look. There's but a few sidewalk plants visible here. Honestly, I wish the crack were wider so I could plant something nice, like some thymes and other stepable groundcover plants.

I am very happy with how my porch is filling out. I don't think I need anymore plants up there, indeed, I have moved the pots surrounding my blue planter a couple inches away as the black and blue fills out.

So far, I have my vase offering, a lemongrass I rooted from an Asian grocery (Lotus, if anybody's wondering), a dracula dahlia, and my blue planter, at least that's all you can see. I think the black and blue will get at least twice as tall and much wider. I am waiting quite happily for that. There's also some cypress vine that is still quite small that should be pretty fun too. We'll see if it gets out of hand.

Hummingbird Flowers

I like hummingbirds. I got hooked a few years ago when i lived in a place that seemed an unlikely spot. For some reason I bought a 3 dollar nectar feeder and put it up and lo, there were hummingbirds. Later I found out that there had been a neighbor who fed them in the past. You see, hummingbirds are creatures of habit, which brings me to the present.

Last year I saw a total of 3 hummingbirds in my yard. I had one feeder up but got mad when they didn't show and let it go. This year I have resolved to entice them as much as possible and so far have seen 2. It is early so I think I will see more. What should draw them in more are various flowers that I have planted. I think that they just haven't had a reason to come here but I know a lady just 3 blocks from me that has hordes so I'm sure I can entice them.

Various salvias are excellent. Pineapple sage is highly recommended but in my experience, here in Pittsburgh, it does not bloom until very late when the bird are leaving. This year I decided to try Salvia guaranitica. This is very highly recommended. Below is one of my 'black and blue' plants. I put them in my earthbox on my front porch ledge which last year held broccoli. This plant could become 4 feet tall. We shall see. It was 4 inches tall just a few weeks ago.

What is kinda interesting to me is that hummingbirds are allegedly attracted to blue. I know that they like red, but some say that they, especially western hummingbirds, love blue. This is just the calyx of the flower. It is the black part of the flower. The flower is a vivid blue. I have been waiting for it to bloom since I have planted it. I suppose I could have chosen a pot with blooms already but I subscribe to the belief that's it's better to let your plant grow in a bit before it blooms, whether it's a vegetable or a flower. The calyx is just opening.

This lavender flower is mona lavender swedish ivy. It is an upright plant that likes some shade so I have it on a table on my porch. The flowers do not have much scent but I sampled a flower and found that it has sweet nectar. This was an impulse buy, more expensive, 10 dollars, than most plants I buy but I think it was worth it. Aren't I cheap?

This cypress seedling should have red blooms on a long vine. I also will be planting some scarlet runner beans, but I haven't decided where.

I'd really like to see more people helping hummingbirds out. They aren't just cute. They eat lots of bugs to quote a quote, "Hummers need nectar to power the bug eating machine that they are."
-Bob Sargent

My source is Hummingbird Feeders, a page on HUMMINGBIRDS.NET. That site is very informative.