Lena Liu hummingbird porcelain music box

With our hummingbird season getting very close to the end we thought we would turn our attention to some holiday gift giving ideas. Every time we find a really nice hummingbird related gift we’re going to make a post about it. Here’s the first hummingbird gift we found that we thought hummingbird lovers might like.


Lena Liu Precious Treasure Hummingbird Music Box
Lena Liu Precious Treasure Hummingbird Music Box

This is an exclusive, limited-edition Ardleigh Elliott collectible music box from award-winning artist Lena Liu’s Garden Whispers Heirloom Porcelain Music Box Collection. Is hand-numbered with matching Certificate of Authenticity.

Crafted of hand-underglazed and triple-fired Heirloom®, features hummingbirds with beautiful iridescent hand-painted colors, 22k gold, Swarovski crystals, pave rhinestones and faux gem accents. Inside lid is a message in elegant golden script, “You are a precious jewel in the garden of life” and it plays the song “On the Wings of Love”.

This would make a great gift for a hummingbird lover or anyone who collects music boxes.

  • Share/Bookmark

Agastache rupestris – licorice mint

We grew this Agastache rupestris plant from seeds two years ago because it’s advertised as a good hummingbird attracting flower. The first year the hummingbirds didn’t pay much attention to it but this year it seems to be getting a lot more action.  Besides being a really unique looking plant if you handle the leaves or the wind blows it around it gives off a pleasing fragrance. Most people say it smells like root beer or licorice, we haven’t quite figured it out yet.

  • Share/Bookmark

Hummingbird feeder maintenance

We found out that the hummingbird feeder maintenance is one of the most important things to do to keep the hummingbirds coming back on a regular basis. We clean, well I mean my husband cleans our feeders and puts in fresh nectar every 3 or 4 days. If the weather is real hot or the nectar gets cloudy we may change every thing sooner. We clean the feeders with warm water a sponge and vinegar and rinse them off real good. We also found out that certain type feeders are much easier to clean than others. So far the dish type feeder in the photo above we have found to be the easiest to clean.

  • Share/Bookmark

Hummingbird nectar recipe

From what we have read and from what we do the most popular hummingbird nectar recipe is four parts water and one part white sugar. Some people say you should boil the water first and others say it doesn’t matter,we just use cold tap water and stir the sugar until it dissolves. Most everyone agrees that you should not use any coloring because it may be harmful to the hummingbirds. It is important not to overfill the feeder or spill any of the nectar on the feeder because this will attract unwanted bugs. Since our last post we have had regular visits from two or three females and for the first time for us we have had visits from a male rubythroat all week. The last few years we  would only see males on occasion usually during migration time, hopefully this one will stay long enough that we can get a picture of him.

  • Share/Bookmark

First hummingbird sighting of the year

They’re here. So, it’s been almost a month since we put out our first hummingbird feeder but now they’re here. My husband has seen one every day this week so far except today, but it’s still early in the day. I’ve only seen two and one was just a quick glance. We think we’re seeing two different hummingbirds, one small female and one larger female rubythroat.First hummingbird sighting of the year

This picture’s not that good but it’s one of our first visitors. Hopefully they’ll continue to come back all season so we’ll have plenty to post about. Last weekend we purchased a few new plants. More about them later.

  • Share/Bookmark

Hummingbird flying

Well, it’s been almost three weeks since we put out our first hummingbird feeder and we have not seen one hummingbird. The weather’s  been cool, windy and not many flowers have bloomed yet,  probably the reason we have not seen any.  Our neighbor who’s a photographer gave us some pictures he took last year.  Here are two of them.

Picture of hummingbird flying in front of flower

Hummingbird photo captured in motion in front of flower
If you’d like to see more of our neighbor’s photography you can visit Fiftytwo Street Photo

  • Share/Bookmark

Hummingbird feeder – 1st week

Last week my husband put out our first hummingbird feeder of the season, hoping we might see one of the male ruby-throats migrating north. This was probably a couple of weeks early but the weather was so nice he couldn’t resist. We usually put out two feeders but we’ll wait til we see our first hummer to do that. The picture below is the feeder we hang off our deck just above our lobelia cardenalis plant.

Photo of saucer type hummingbird feeder

This saucer or dish type feeder has become our favorite type of feeder. We found out this type of hummingbird feeder is easy to clean, easy to fill and unlike the bottle type feeders you can see the hummers no matter what port they are feeding from. If you would like to get a feeder like this here’s where you can purchase the HumZinger Mini Hummingbird Feeder

  • Share/Bookmark

Our hummingbird flowers

 

Here are some photos of the hummingbird flowers that our hummingbirds like best.

 

Salvia – Black & Blue

Picture of salvia - black and blue considered one of the best flowers for attracting hummingbirds

This Salvia – Black & Blue plant is a new addition to our garden. We purchased it from a local nursery because our research told us it was one of the best plants for attracting hummingbirds. Our research was right the hummingbirds love it.

Lobelia cardinalis – ( Cardinal flower )

Photo of lobelia cardinalis

It’s our second year for this Lobelia cardinalis – (Cardinal Flower) plant. It grows about three feet tall, needs lots of water and has to be stacked up at times to kept it from falling over. Even with the watering and staking problems this is a great plant. The color of the red flowers is almost indescribable. The purple reddish stems and leaves add great contrast to your garden. The best part about this plant is the way the hummingbirds love it. If you are trying to attract hummingbirds to your garden this is a must have plant.

Honeysuckle – John Clayton

Honeysuckle - John Clayton which hummingbirds love

This Honeysuckle – John Clayton picture was taken on our deck. We tried this type of honeysuckle for a couple of reasons. First, we read it was smaller than most honeysuckle and could be grown in a container. Second, we wanted a flower that would attract hummingbirds, it worked great for both reasons.

  • Share/Bookmark

Hummingbird blog – 1st day

hummingbird photoThis is the first day of our new hummingbird blog. We don’t know much about blogs but we hope in a short period of time to have a very interesting blog you’ll like to visit.

According to the hummingbird migration map the hummingbirds should be at our garden soon.

  • Share/Bookmark