Late Summer Garden Update: Winged Beauties and Fearless Flyers

Happy Friday!

Summer is winding down with August coming to a close,

but Mother Nature still has plenty of summer weather in store for us

in North Carolina.

It’s been a while since I shared a garden update,

so grab something cold to drink and join me for a stroll

around The Potting Shed to see late summer garden blooms.

Warning: Photo heavy post ahead.

The heat index is back in the triple digits this weekend,

but it’s the perfect weather for butterflies,

as they fly best when their body temperature is between 85 and 100 degrees.

I wish I could say that I function as well in the same temperature range,

but my optimum range is 30 degrees cooler. :)

While most of garden is looking tired and spent at the end of August,

 Sweet Autumn Clematis is just coming into bloom.

Sweet Autumn Clematis a prolific grower and fragrant bloomer; the twining stems

reaching 20  –  30 feet with support of a trellis or fence.

The creamy white blooms create a billowy fragrant mass in late summer or early fall,

attracting pollinators . . .bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is hardy in USDA zones 4 – 9.

It grows in full sun or partial shade and thrives

 in well-drained soil. Mulching the soil surface is recommended to

conserve moisture and shade the roots.

Water deeply and regularly the first growing season to establish the root system.

You can reduce watering frequency once established.

Warning: Sweet Autumn Clematis can be invasive in some areas.

To keep it in check, give it a hard prune immediately after blooming

to prevent reseeding, cutting it down to the ground.

 The creamy-chartreuse Limelight Hydrangea blooms

are making their fall metamorphosis.

The large football-sized flowers acquire a bronzy/burnished hue in the fall.

Limelight Hydrangeas are perfect texture for drying when the petals beginning to feel ‘papery’.

( See -> A Fall Harvest on the Potting Bench )

Endless Summer Hydrangeas are still pushing blooms

but are starting to complain about

the August heat and lack of rain (like me :)

Have you ever wondered by it’s either feast or famine with rain?

Butterflies and hummingbirds provide some welcome color in the heat of summer

when the flowers are waning, adding another dimension to the garden.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is the most common variety butterfly we see.

Lantana seems to be the favored garden annual for most butterflies.

Verbena Lollipop is another pollinator favorite,

attracting butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

It’s hardy in USDA zones 6 – 10, prefers full sun in well-drained soil.

It self sows and can pop up everywhere, which may or may not be a good thing,

depending on your gardening style and landscape.

It’s definitely not for gardeners who like things ‘tidy’.

As well as Cleome or spider flower, an old-fashioned annual

that blooms from summer to fall.

And bright pink zinnias seem to be hands down favorite color of zinnia for butterflies!

Just as summer is winding down, hummingbird visits at the

feeders and in the garden are picking up here in North Carolina!

One of their favorite garden flowers is red salvia.

I always get a thrill when I see these fearless flyers go zipping by,

dashing from flower to feeder.

They seem to spend more time defending their territory and food sources,

than actually feeding. ;)

There are 320 species of hummingbirds, but only one,

the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, can be found east of the Mississippi River in the U.S.

In terms of area however, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds occupy the largest breeding

range of any of the North American hummingbird species.

Hummingbirds are a prolific pollinator of flowers.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds deposit 10 times as much pollen as bumblebees.

*** Ugly warning *** -> Disregard the sad, neglected state

of this container of annuals in the photos below . . .

I noticed movement and saw this petunia was vibrating

 with a hummingbird visitor.

Hummingbirds like flowers that produce a lot of nectar, such as bee balm, salvias,

weigela, trumpet honeysuckle and other trumpet vines, cardinal flower, petunias

or anything that is tubular in shape.

Male Ruby-throats have a distinctive ruby-red throat, hence the name. :)

Females are greenish, with a white throat and a notched tail,

while juvenile males resemble adult females.

While a small number or Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will winter in Florida and along the Gulf coast,

most will overwinter in Central America. You have to be a fearless flyer to make a nonstop flight

of more than 500 miles across the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico!

It also means that hummingbirds need to double their body mass with a steady diet

of nectar and insects prior to their migration in the fall.

Hummingbirds’ wings move in figure-eight patterns,

allowing them to hover in midair and fly backwards.

Their wings beat more than 50 times per second,

requiring them to feed every 10 to 15 minutes.

It’s a myth that leaving hummingbird feeders up too late in the fall will prevent the birds from migrating.

Hummingbirds have an internal clock regulated by the changing day length,

which lets them know when it’s time to go.

As a general rule, leave your feeder up for two weeks after you have seen your last hummingbird.

There might be one or two stragglers migrating in need of a rest stop to refuel.

Plain white table sugar mixed with water mimics the chemical composition of natural nectar.

Do not use organic, natural, or raw sugars as they contain levels of iron that could be harmful.

Also, do not use honey, which can cause fermentation, promoting bacteria and fungal growth.

Avoid red dye in your sugar water which may be harmful to hummingbirds.

Boiled tap water is the preferred water to use.

Using boiled water removes any potentially harmful bacteria, chlorine,

fluorides, etc. that hummers don’t need.

Mix up a quart at a time (1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water).

After the sugar is dissolved and has cooled, store it in the fridge for quick refilling.

Nectar spoils quickly in hot weather so clean your feeder every time you refill!

I only fill my feeders about 1/2 full, as I empty, clean and refill

every 2 – 3 days with our 90+ August temperatures.

Have you had many hummingbird visitors?

Hope you’re finding a way to stay cool and beat the heat. ♥

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 Between Naps on the Porch