One of our favorite vines is unquestionably the South American, Brazilian firecracker vine, Manettia cordifolia. This amazing, well-behaved plant doesn’t emerge for us until mid-to-late June, but once the temperatures rise, it explodes into a hummingbirds dream. The peak flowering season for us, is September and October, when it puts on a show like little
Manettia – a Hummer’s Dream Read More »
Here is one of several clumps of the hardy Sinningia ‘Bananas Foster’ we planted along our patio retaining wall, where we can sit at night and watch the hummingbirds dine. This amazing plant flowers from May through the summer, so there’s no need to refill the red plastic feeders with high fructose water. These are
A Hummingbird Dessert – Bananas Foster Read More »
Long ago, we gave up our red plastic hummingbird feeders for a more natural way to attract hummers to the garden, and one of the best is the Southwest US native Anisacanthus wrightii. Starting for us in August, it continues to be a blaze of glory through September. Texas firecracker prefers full sun and dry
Natural Hummingbird Feeders Read More »
The latest member of the clumping monardas of the Electric Neon series is ‘Electric Neon Purple’. Here it is in our garden this summer, looking absolutely fabulous. Look for this in our upcoming Fall catalog.
Electric Neon Purple Read More »
Looking lovely in the dryland garden now is the amazingly vigorous Agastache ‘Queen Nectarine’. This amazing giant measures 3.5′ tall x 3.5′ wide, and is adorned at any given time, May through October, with hundreds of flowers, perfectly designed for hummingbirds. Many of the non purple-flowered agastaches struggle in our hot, humid, rainy summers, but
Try as we might, we have been epic failures trying to grow the showy southwest native Zauschneria (now epilobium) in our garden, due to the combination of high humidity and torrential summer rainfalls. No matter where we tried them in the rock garden, they quickly expired. That was in the years BC…before crevice. Here is
Holy Zauschneria, Batman! Read More »
The 7′ tall, and very floriferous Hedychium ‘Flaming Torch’ is looking quite stunning today in the garden. Although they are commonly called ginger lily, they are not a true lily (genus Lilium) or a true ginger plant (genus Zingiber). Hedychiums are prized for their summer and early fall floral shows atop bold-foliaged stalks. The inflorescences
Flaming Torch of Summer Read More »
We cannot think of any plant that draws more hummingbirds than the hardy upright sinningias. Most of these are Sinningia selovii hybrids that come in a range of colors from yellow to orange to red. We have them ringing our full sun patio, which results in a non-stop show of hummingbirds.
A Sweet Little Hummer Read More »
Gloxinias that I knew growing up were the typical florists Gloxinia my aunt and grandmother used to grow as house plants, with broad velvety leaves and large, brightly colored bell-shaped flowers. Who knew you could grow Gloxinias in the garden? Well here comes Evita!! This selection of Gloxinia nematanthodes hails from 4,000′ elevation in Argentina
Gloxinias in the Garden – Say What! Read More »
Lobelia cardinalis is native to 41 out of the 50 states in North America. The cardinal flower is tolerant of many different soils from moist bogs to average garden soils, and is perfect for use in rain gardens. Cardinal flowers are also a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies. Lobelia begins blooming in summer and will continue
Cardinal Flowers – An Easy to Grow Native Read More »
