Monarda for hummingbirds

I had meant to get a bright red Monarda didyma to attract ruby-throated hummingbirds, but found this magenta one 'Raspberry Wine' instead. It's done remarkably well since it was planted last summer. Being next to the bird bath has definitely helped provide moisture that's otherwise in short supply this summer.

It's struggled a bit with powdery mildew (like most Monarda spp.), but provides a welcome patch of color nevertheless.

This morning, I saw a hummingbird spending time methodically working through open flowers, extracting nectar (naturally, I didn't have my camera!) Fortunately, the inflorescences have lots of flowers which open over an extended period of time.

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A magenta Monarda

The bee balm that I planted near the birdbath is in full flower. It was an experiment from last fall; I planted a trio of 'rescued' moisture-loving plants in dry shade, figuring they'd get extra moisture from the birdbath water.

The new foliage of the Heuchera turned out to be an unfortunate lime-green for this particular spot, a color prized by horticulture folks, I guess, and OK for a container, but not in the ground. Fortunately, the later leaves became more normal in color, and I removed the lightest ones after they totally bleached out, anyway.

The bee balm (Monarda Raspberry Wine) WAS the clear magenta promised (I forgot this until I looked back at my previous blog about planting it--hooray for my online garden journal) -- quite unusual compared to its native red, but striking one, nevertheless. I haven't yet seen any hummingbirds visit it, though.

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A new focal point with Lobelia x speciosa

The Lobelia x speciosa and the Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' have new homes next to the bird bath. Searching for an appropriate site (of course, there's no place that's really damp enough normally), my gardening partner suggested that the area under the big oak might be good.

It is currently getting full sun for several hours in midday, which may be ideal for these species, although I'm not sure what the sun's angle is in spring. We have our bird bath and bird feeders there, my containers have done quite nicely with the light levels, so I thought, why not? After all, I clean and empty the bird bath at least 4 times a week; it might as well help something grow (in addition to the oak, that is).

I set about digging up an area for the two Lobelias, the Monarda, and a Heuchera, all of which I thought would be perfect for that level of partial shade. I nixed an attractive Euphorbia that I had bought recently, since our friendly squirrels had chewed one in one of the porch boxes to bits. The soil was quite nice, and looked rich with with organic matter, and didn't have many roots, as it's been mulched for some years.

Then, I added a good measure of 'top soil' -- really a half peat, half sand 'product' and mixed that in to hold moisture. Plenty of water, and then I was ready to plant.

It was a pleasure walking out the door this morning on my way to work, and seeing the results. This is why we garden.

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