Hummingbirds and Butterflies!

These last couple weeks have been just crazy, with the new family addition & getting the kiddo’s ready to go back to school. Blogger has taken a back seat to my ‘other life’! 
The garden is showing signs of quieting down & just a few flowers are blooming.  It has been hot (high 80’s) with very little rain here to accommodate all of the garden needs.  I do have to laugh that the nurseries here encourage us to plant drought tolerant plants for these few weeks that we do get the hot sunshine. Yet in my garden those types of garden plants seem to die because of all of the rain the soil has to absorb.  I cannot tell you how many plants I’ve had to pull because they have rotted in the ground due to how wet the soil is.  So I’ve just decided to do my own thing and plant what works here at Fishtail Cottage and not plant again what doesn’t work. 
This week – it’s the abundance of blooms for hummingbirds and butterflies.  It’s been crazy the amount of hummingbirds that have been visiting the garden.  They say hummingbirds are very territorial – however, there must be enough food here in the garden between the feeders and the blooms because I’ve seen up to seven at a time swooping in and visiting.  Their favorite will have to be the hardy fuchsia!  This year I split my plants up and planted more throughout the garden to enable more visitors! 

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Another favorite of these sweet birds is my Rose of Sharon.  I have three of these gorgeous bloomers and the hummingbirds definitely linger a long time around these blooms.  This year these shrubs have reached at least 4feet wide and 6 feet tall~  I hope next year is the year they cover my bedroom windows fully! Just so pretty this time of year!

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More favorites that I see a lot of activity at this time of year is the (in order) Penstemon, Gaura &  the second blooming of Delphinium.

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Don’t know what this sweet flower is in the first picture, believe it’s natures gift to me & these four ‘o'clocks are finally blooming & are very inviting to my buzzing my friends!

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Thanks for coming by this week to visit my garden post for the week!  Hope to see you at Cottage Flora Thursday’s later this evening! To see what I am linking to this week – please check my “Cottage Links” label…xoox, Tracie
PS - Fishtail Cottage is now on
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Comments

Sunray Gardens said…
Very pretty blooms going on. You are right plant what works for you.
Cher Sunray Gardens
I love delphinium...yours are so healthy looking and colorful!!

XO,
Jane
Julie Marie said…
Hi Tracie, love all your beautiful plants that attract Hummingbirds, my favorite... the flower in your photo is a Cosmos... I grow tons of those, they were my great~grandmother's favorite flower of all and I plant them for her... very old~fashioned... xoxo Julie Marie
Hi Tracie,
Your garden never fails to delight me. Love watching the hummers.
Diana LaMarre said…
I can see why you get so many butterflies and hummers--gorgeous bloooms and you fee them, too.

I am just beginning to notice butterflies and humming birds as my buddelias began to bloom. It is such fun watching them all fly in for dinner.
Just beautiful!!
My own garden is in much need of some tending and my annuals have just about had it so I have linked my post on the Mansion with pics of the back grounds...

Hugs,
Debbie
Darla said…
It does seem that life is busier than normal, whatever normal is. We have also had a lot of flying visitors in our gardens. Your blooms are so pretty.
Unknown said…
Hi Tracie, Once again it's another lovely week for the gardens. yes, time is running out and I too have found that every inch of space in my garden will only go to the flowers that work well and survive. I have wasted so much time and money trying to plant a little of everything. Not anymore. If you dont show, you go! LOL!
Hope you dont mind that I posted twice. We will be starting to clean up and get ready for fall..
Gatsbys Gardens said…
Tracie,

I have seen so many Rose of Sharon in my area that I am tempted to plant it again if I can find a smaller one. Gaura is a great addition to the garden this time of year, fills in where others leave off.

Eileen
Charlotte said…
Your flowers are beautiful! I have the opposite problem here in California...hot all summer and no rain. Everything has to be hand watered! I have a couple Rose of Sharons and I love them as much as the hummingbirds:)
Thank you for the walk through your garden.
Charlotte
I can see why those hummers love your garden so much! Lovely! It's getting cooler here and the roses come back for another bloom. They sometimes stay until November! Thanks for hosting!
Hi Tracie
Your gardens are still with summer colours, how nice. Plants here must be able to survive on their own once they have settled in which is why I favour many native varieties. I agree that you should just plant what works and can handle your summers.
Judith
Linda said…
You still have some nice blooms in the garden. Mine is beginning to slow down and some plants are starting to fade ... but they are still beautiful.
Your delphinium rebloom?!?!! I'm lucky if they bloom at all AND stick around for the next year. Yours is gorgeous. =)
I'm getting a 2nd blooming of my delphinium too, and I'm so happy about it! That's a nice gift! I love seeing the hummers too- I left the flowers on the hostas for them and they danced around my garden feeding from them but now they are all done. My rose of sharon is blooming too, but the poor shrub is growing crooked away from my magnolia that has gotten huge. I might have to relocate it late this fall. Your photos are lovely!
Your garden is so lovely and I adore hummingbirds. In fact, we named my house Hummingbird Heaven because the little birds love to visit and spend so much time here.
I'm sorry to be late to the party so I won't join in this week. Next time for sure. Thank you for hosting such a lovey party.
cherry said…
I'm loving all your beautiful pink blooms this week...
Thanks for hosting the party..
Happy September.. hugs from Savannah, Cherry

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