2022 Garden Tour letter

 

Photo by Michael Rock (9/17/2021)---Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Salvia guaranitica

“Hummingbird: With brave wings she flies.”    

“I always loved those little creatures [hummingbirds], always feel blessed when they appear nearby. There’s a magical quality to them. I finally put one in a song.”- Leonard Cohen

Dear Friends,

Once again, it has been a long time since we have been in touch.  However, we are thinking of you and hoping that you and your family are staying well and safe and that you are enjoying the hummingbirds, butterflies, and other summer creatures of beauty and wonder. 

It is such an exciting time of the year with the great fall migration of hummingbirds coming in September and we hope that you’ll stop in and share it with us a bit later this season!

If you need information about hummingbird feeders, please e-mail Kathi at kathijr@yahoo.com.  Just a reminder, no matter what feeder you decide to use, it must be scrubbed and cleaned, and the nectar changed every few days or when the nectar is visibly cloudy, especially when weather is hot and humid.  Fermented or spoiled nectar could sicken or kill a hummingbird.  Red dyes are unnecessary---use ONLY white table sugar and water in feeders.  Ant and bee guards will help keep these insects away from your feeders.  Thank you in advance for caring about your hummingbirds and for all the hard work this entails!!  This is a very handy guide that will help you with this important task:

 

We saw our first hummingbird, an adult male Ruby-throat on May 7, the day before Mother’s Day.  It was very exciting and memorable as Michael was outside and Kathi was inside, and we both looked at the feeder at the same time and saw our first hummingbird visitor of 2022!!  We are very excited to report that our hummingbird activity has been extremely strong this season and we’ve only had one day with no sightings.  Interestingly, in mid to late August activity has slowed down just a bit but we are hoping that it is the “calm before the storm” of the fall migration.  Our peak numbers have always historically occurred in mid-September (we have detailed records going back over 20 years!).

That brings us to our major topic for this communication, our upcoming Hummingbird Garden Tours.  This year we have decided to again proceed with the tours with a few modifications.  Sadly, the pandemic is still with us (which we didn’t expect!) We are not exactly certain of where the pandemic will be in mid-September, but we do feel comfortable about hosting an informal, drop-in public event on our property.  The dates of the tours are WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 3-7 P.M. and SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1-5 P.M. at our home, 5118 Buffalo Trail, Madison, WI  53705.  Event will be held rain or shine (hope for sun!)

What will be different from a “normal” year:

-This year face coverings should be worn at your discretion.  If you are at extremely high risk for Covid-19, please wear a face-covering or plan to join us next year when the risk will perhaps be lessened.

-No food or drink will be served.  If you wish, you can bring your own water or beverage bottle.  We ask that you do not bring food or drink to share with others.

-We cannot allow people to use our restroom facilities or enter our home except in an extreme emergency and we apologize in advance.

-Please do not bring us food, sugar, or other gifts---while we so much appreciate your generosity in the past, we ask that you refrain from doing so again this year.  Your presence at our event is your gift to us!

-Mickey O’Connor and her “crewe” have generously offered to band hummingbirds in our yard on September 18 for the Sunday tour. We are so very happy to have them back again!

-Larry and Emily Scheunemann will once again be with us to present their fun and informative class about hummingbirds.  The class will occur at 3 p.m. on both Wednesday and Sunday.

-The door prize drawings will occur at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.  You must be present to win a door prize.

-We thank Wildbirds Unlimited for their wonderful support and helping us to publicize this annual event.

-We also wish to acknowledge Janice Selfridge and Jim Stewart for their kind donation of lovely door prizes that display their incredible photographic talent.  Additionally, we thank Christina Ciano and Jeff Buss for their generous donation of “A Place In The Garden” DVD’s.

-All handout pieces will be available only online at our website or by special request by e-mailing Kathi at kathijr@yahoo.com.

-We reserve the right to modify these arrangements as needed and required and to cancel the event if needed.

Please read the following:

“As a condition of my participation in this event, I, do hereby expressly waive any rights against and release and hold harmless Michael Rock and Kathi Johnson Rock from and against any and all claims, suits, demands, losses, damages, expenses, or liability of whatever kind or nature (collectively “liability”), under any theory of law or equity, that may arise during or as a result of my presence at the premises, including but not limited to any such liability related to or arising out of illness, injury, or death associated with infection of COVID-19 or complications, symptoms, or other. “effects resulting from contracting COVID-19

What Will be The Same?

-Hummingbirds, butterflies (sadly, many fewer this year!), dragonflies, and other pollinators, beautiful flowers, and our pond!

-Hopefully, great weather, which we have been very lucky to experience for all our past tours except for one year.  Lets all hope for no rain again this year!

-Door prizes---We will have a short program and small door prize drawing at each tour (5 p.m. on Wednesday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.)

-We will be thrilled to see you all once again and experience as we enjoy hummingbirds together in a safe setting for all of us!

 

A Few Reminders:

-Many bees and wasps are present in a garden with so many nectar producing flowers and sugar water feeders, especially in September.  We ask that you be very cautious and come prepared if you have a bee or wasp allergy or sensitivity.  Be very careful when walking around our garden that you don’t brush up against a bee or wasp by accident.  If you are allergic or sensitive to bee or wasp stings, please take precautions.

-Please refrain from touching flowers and hard surfaces throughout the garden if you can.  This will help us to prevent transmission of the Coronavirus.  Hand sanitizer (both scented and fragrance-free) will be provided for those who wish to use it or you can bring your own!

-Only our front yard is accessible for people with physical disabilities who use a wheelchair.

-Wear sensible and comfortable footwear as ground may be uneven or rocky

-Photography of anything in our garden is absolutely allowed and encouraged.

-Minor children must always be supervised.

-We have a neighborhood cat who sometimes joins us for the tour, but we ask that you not bring any pets to the tours!  We strongly recommend you keep cats indoors!!

If you have any questions about the Garden Tours, please e-mail Kathi at kathijr@yahoo.com.  You can also visit our website at www.hummingbirdgardening.net   (and while you’re there, take a peek at the beautiful photos, all taken by Michael, and other valuable information.)

BEST FLOWERS OF 2022

It seems that every season is a bit different in terms of what hummingbirds seem to prefer to feed from in our garden.  Tropical Salvias are still one of our “best” flowers for hummingbirds but we’ve seen Cuphea ‘David Verity’ (sadly, only available by mail order from Select Seeds, Flowers By the Sea, or Almost Eden Plants) used so much this year---it is like candy for a hummingbird.  We also grow Cuphea ‘Vermillionaire’, but that Cuphea variety has not been as strong for us this season (which began much earlier and has been warmer overall!)  The flowers of cuphea are certainly the perfect size and shape for a Ruby-throated hummingbird’s bill, especially those of Cuphea ‘David Verity’.   Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens, the ‘Major Wheeler’ variety) has always been great for our hummingbirds and is a carefree, tough perennial plant that always seems to be in bloom---if you don’t have this plant in your garden, we highly recommend that you get one! (never plant Japanese Honeysuckle and be warned that Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) is very aggressive in the landscape and is not in bloom for the fall migration) The honeysuckle flowers are a single tube with sweet nectar at the end, a hummingbird’s delight (not that much different than the flowers of Cuphea!)!  In terms of salvias, preferences have also been a little different.  We have numerous Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ in our garden this year and hummingbirds have loved them.  They always seem to be in bloom and can take any weather condition you throw at them with ease.  Salvia coccinea has also been a winner for us and the hummingbirds.  We had many plants that we overwintered inside of our sunroom and they grow much taller in their second year, which is helpful for hummingbirds.  Lastly, you cannot go wrong with any variety of Salvia guaranitica and we were so lucky to find many new varieties at our local garden centers this year and we also placed more than one order with Flowers By the Sea mail order nursery.  It is so much more satisfying to see hummingbirds use the flowers and flowers (annual or perennial) are a great way to further extend your enjoyment of hummingbirds.  It is very important to plant flowers and hang feeders where you can easily see and enjoy them!!

 

HOW CAN I ENCOURAGE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS TO BUILD A NEST WITHIN OR NEAR MY PROPERTY?

Finding a Ruby-throated hummingbird nest is like winning the lottery and we have hoped and prayed over the years that we might find a nest in our very own west side Madison yard.  For the first time in over 20 years, we think this may have happened but sadly we have no photographic evidence to support it.  Ruby-throated female hummingbirds are masters of disguise and to find a nest that is the size of a half walnut shell with eggs the size of tic tacs seems almost impossible.  Hummingbird nests are built out of a variety of materials including moss, lichen, plant down, feathers, and spider silk. Nests are typically built high up off the ground, between 10 to 40 feet—and even as high as 90 feet—and are located in shrubs and trees. The female bird completes all of the construction of the nest and caring for and feeding the chicks---the male plays no part at all except for the “act” and has nothing to do with the chicks after they are hatched and may even view them as eventual competitors for food.   For at least the past 5 years, we have been putting special nesting material out near our hummingbird feeders in hopes that a busy hummer Mom might grab some.  Until this year, we had a lot of interest on the part of Goldfinches, but not from hummingbirds. You can purchase this unbleached cotton material in either a ball or enclosed in rack and we have used both.  Here is a photo taken by bander Sheri L. Williamson of a hummingbird gathering the unbleached cotton from a ball. 

This material is available for purchase from Wildbirds Unlimited and online.   Please do not use any other material except for unbleached cotton.  We put our material out this year and for the very first time observed adult female Ruby-throated hummingbirds taking some on several occasions---finally!!   Master bander Nancy Newfield tells us that the nest could be as close as 100 yards away.  We did observe a female hummingbird coming to feed and then returning to the same spot very high up in our birch trees during late May and June, so maybe!

 

OVERWINTERING TENDER HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS

Fall and winter are coming and soon it will sadly be time to say goodbye to our garden for the year.  Unfortunately, so many of the best plants for hummingbirds cannot survive in our cold and snowy winters in Wisconsin.  It does become very pricey to purchase new plants every spring in anticipation of the coming hummingbird season, especially since many of those plants can only be found online and shipping these days is not cheap.  We have a good-sized sunroom with a space heater to minimally heat the room and we are so lucky to have this space for plant overwintering.  The room has skylights and windows on three sides and the space heater heats it to around 50 degrees, which is perfect for so many tender plants, especially the Salvia guaranitica types.  The plants often look quite ragged or even go dormant, but most do come back again once they are outside again in the late spring.  Cuphea also overwinters quite well for us in this room.  We feel that the key is a low temperature that is quite far from freezing (most basements are way too warm as we’ve found and an unheated garage or shed is too cold) and minimal watering (overwatering can easily kill an overwintering plant!)  There are a few plants that we’ve found are better treated as annuals and it’s best to repurchase them every spring, especially the Salvia splendens types and many of the southwestern salvias and a few other central and South American salvias.  All Cupheas we have in hanging pots are replanted in the ground in the spring and we get new small plants for the pots (a two inch cuphea plant can easily fill a 12 inch hanging pot in no time) ---that way we have a beautiful plant in the ground that is 3-4 feet tall and we are getting two years out of a tender plant.  We also replant most overwintered salvias in the ground and get new ones for containers, getting two years out of every plant.  If you don’t have a sunroom or a greenhouse, other ways to preserve tender plants include taking cuttings and collecting seeds---seeds will not work for every salvia because often the new plants that grows from a seed will not be like the original plant.  With cuttings, you must have a grow light in a warm place and a commitment to keep the new little plants alive until spring.  Here is an excellent link if you are interested in trying cuttings to make more plants and to preserve the plants you and the hummers enjoyed so much during the summer and early fall:  https://www.thespruce.com/make-more-plants-with-cuttings-1402474

OTHER NEWS

-Rufous Hummingbird seen in Plover, Wisconsin (suburb of Steven’s Point in Central Wisconsin).  This vagrant hummingbird from the west arrived on July 24 (relatively early in the season for these birds).  Here is a photo (photo by Dan Belter) and you can see how different the Rufous hummingbird looks compared to the Ruby-throat, which is the only commonly seen hummingbird in Wisconsin. 

 

-Rare Hummingbird Last Seen In Colombia in 2010 Rediscovered!!:  “The Santa Marta Sabrewing, a large hummingbird only found in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, was last seen in 2010 and scientists feared the species might be extinct as the tropical forests it inhabited have largely been cleared for agriculture.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/05/rare-hummingbird-rediscovered-colombia-age-of-extinction

-Don’t forget about Journeynorth.org (located in Madison at the UW Arboretum) as the fall migration approaches.  This informational page from the Journey North website is extremely informative:  https://journeynorth.org/hummingbirds

-Hummingbird Society:  We had hoped to attend the Sedona Hummingbird Festival this year in late July but we both had Covid and were unfortunately unable to attend.    However, we did watch the presentations online and they were excellent.  Beth Kingsley Hawkins is doing a wonderful job as the interim executive director.   We hope to make it next year.  To learn more about the Hummingbird Society visit their website at:  https://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/ or on Facebook.

-2023 PBS Wisconsin Garden & Landscape Expo, February 10-12, 2023.  https://wigardenexpo.com/   We plan to submit our “Gardening for Hummingbirds” seminar again and a new seminar about the use of salvias in the garden.  We hope that a few of you might join us for this exciting community event!!

THANK YOU & ENJOY YOUR HUMMINGBIRDS!!   See you at the Garden Tours!!