Author Topic: Hummingbird Friendly Yard  (Read 3294 times)

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Offline Smokin Don

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Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #-1 on: May 29, 2015, 10:49:31 PM »
May 29 2015

I have been feeding the hummingbirds more than 30 years and they never cease to amaze me. My neighbor has a honeysuckle bush and I have one on an arbor & chain link fence. The neighbor’s blooms a few weeks before mine does and is a shade darker orange. The hummers love these. I have two humming bird feeders on hooks on each side of my bush.

For years I had a trumpet vine woven in my red wood privacy fence, it was the hummer’s favorite flower I ever had planted. The vines got too large, tearing up my fence and I was tired of keeping it off my house. If you plant one of these it needs to be out away from buildings; it will attach to the buildings.

Another flower they love is impatients and I have been planting them in pots on the north side of my garage for years. This is the best way to have a weed free flower bed; mulch or stones in the bed and flowers in pots! I have never been very good at keeping the weeds out of flower beds so most of my flowers are in pots and hanging baskets.

One of my neighbors has beautiful flower beds and works in them all the time; about half of her back yard is flower beds.

You can see the neighbors honeysuckle behind mine


My feeders


My workshop and my dog looking on. Small garden on the left with 6 tomato plants, two square tiles have basil in and the two round ones have chives that are blooming now. Some day lilies in the front and on the right are, day lilies, weeds, grass and garlic chives.


Privacy fence that used to have trumpet vines. The steps are from a wooden hot tub we had for 15 years. The old pump is just for decoration.


My only weed free flower bed!


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Offline TwoPockets

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« on: May 29, 2015, 11:36:37 PM »
Nice! My wife is a Master Gardner and we always have plants to attract summers and butterflies. We have 4 hummer feeders out this year so far and are getting a few in so far. Hopefully it will be wide open in a week or so
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Offline smokeasaurus

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2015, 10:56:54 AM »
What a nice sanctuary for both you and the Hummingbirds  :)
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Offline Pappymn

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Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2015, 11:25:30 AM »
Nice. Been trying to attract hummingbirds this year. No luck yet
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Offline drholly

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2015, 10:49:53 PM »
Great pictures and a beautiful yard!
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Offline muebe

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2015, 07:09:16 PM »
Your reminding me I need to fill my feeder. Looks great Don!
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Offline aliengriller

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #5 on: May 31, 2015, 07:53:43 PM »
BEAUTIFUL honeysuckle!  We have two--the old fashioned kind (mostly yellow blossoms) and a red one.   The red one likes the shade better, so it grows on the "inside" of the trellis--under the patio cover!   AND, thanks for the tip about impatiens.   As our patio is covered, and shaded by a HUGE pecan tree, it is mostly shaded and we have grown impatiens out there in the past.    Haven't recently, but we will now!

Offline Chief Mac

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #6 on: May 31, 2015, 09:04:37 PM »
I put  the hummers feeders up  early this year about the 2ND week of May. We don't normally see a lot of activity until the the first week of June, so I did not really think about getting Inpatients or Red Salvia, which seem to help attract the birds.  I have an area I am trying to grow grass where and oak tree and stump were removed and I was out about 8:00 AM hand watering the area with a hose and nozzle. I had the nozzle set on a fairly wide fan setting and was giving the ground and new grass a thorough soaking. I was not paying attention to a whole lot yet as I was trying to wake up with the first cup of coffee. I caught a movement about 3 or 4 feet from my head moving towards a cherry tree about 15 feet from were I was standing. Less than a minute latter there was the first hummingbird of the season, darting in and out of the spray of water. I adjusted the water spray to be a little more fanned and gentler so as not to hurt her. She rocketed in and out of the water spray for at least 20 seconds and then it was back to the cherry tree to roost. I had no activity on the feeder for a few days then a males showed up and he seemed to be quite content until the female reappeared then chased the male off. I figured I better put up the 2ND feeder if they starting to get too possessive , as has happened in years past. As long as the feeders are out of the line of sight of each other the activity seems to increase in frequency and duration.  So, now that I put up the 2ND feeder i have had zero activity. Go figure? I guess Ill get the Inpatients and Salvia to help lure them back. ???  ???  ???  ;)
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Offline HighOnSmoke

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #7 on: May 31, 2015, 09:22:32 PM »
Great pictures and a beautiful yard!

X2!
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Offline Smokin Don

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #8 on: June 01, 2015, 09:26:53 AM »
Chef Mac I used to get my first hummer about mid May but lately it has been early May, this year it was May 1st. I see the males first and then will see some females. I always had 6 or 7 feeders out but cut back to just 2 this year. It is hard to catch them at the feeders early as they just dart in and out. I think it's after the eggs hatch I will see the females more often.

I get the most activity later as they start their journey back south. I have been feeding so long I think my yard is a stop off point for ones coming from north of me. Some go all the way into southern Canada. It's then I get to see a lot of duels as my resident male tries to guard his feeders.

Hope you get some hummers Pappy! Don
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Offline TMB

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #9 on: June 01, 2015, 09:40:44 AM »
Wished I had the time for hummingbirds.   Every time we add feeders for them we forget to check and they either go unused because they are so nasty with junk in them or we forget to refill them
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Offline Pam Gould

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #10 on: June 01, 2015, 10:09:01 AM »
I attract my humbirds with trumpet vines..they look like orange trumpets...they love them.  .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
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Offline hikerman

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Re: Hummingbird Friendly Yard
« Reply #11 on: June 01, 2015, 10:39:54 AM »
Nice pics Don. We have two feeders and have been seeing 3 or 4 hummers drinking on them.  Hopefully more will stop by for the summer.