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Skyhawk is a winner with the hummers

19 years ago

Here's my neigborhood hummer on a tall Skyhawk Canna bloom.

{{gwi:996877}}

Here is a link that might be useful: My Online Gallery

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Comments (15)

jroot
19 years ago
Aren't these little fellas cute? We've got some neighbourhood hummers as well. I actually gave one a bath recently as I was watering my garden.
dighappy
19 years ago
Stephen, your gardens and pictures are spectacular.....what kind of camera do you use? Truly enjoyed looking thru your gallery. Keep the pics coming!
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Hi Kris! (This is my first post at the "Hmmingbird Forum".) Must tell you about my townhome complex in CO. Many little tiny balconies, but we all make good use of them for the hummers. It CAN be done ... beautifully! They go for even petunias, but, at my house, the favorite plant is the Fuchsia 'Thalia' -- See web page (if it works!) ;) These long funnel shaped flowers are the rage for my hummers. They insert their whole beak into them, and nearly disappear into the blossom. This is a very resiliant plant, and very, very easy to grow. Take caution that it won't blow over ... Mine did a few times, last summer, and I kept repotting it, and it continued to thrive. I tried many other varities, but this one is the ticket! You must try one this year, and next year, you'll fill your space with them. Or .. just fill it with them this year! I promise you, it's a winner! Good luck, and may the sound of wings always be 'round your head! PS: First Hummer tonight, Rocky Mountain Foothills - 6:30 PM at my Hummingbird feeder. PPS: I came here for another reason. I'm posting a question about HUMMERS at my thistle feeder today. note: Here's the fuchsia page in case the url link doesn't work: http://home.clara.net/tmac/garden/plants/fuchsia1.htm Here is a link that might be useful: A Fuchsia Page
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I bought some Robert Kemp seeds from Karchesky last fall. The company is very generous. The price for 6 seeds is $3.00, but I actually got 10 or 12 seeds. Don't know if it was a mistake or what, but I appreciated the gesture. Karchesky's has a huge selection and the ones that are attractive to HBs are indicated in the descriptions. This year, I want to try c. coccinea, a pink one. Some companies deserve free advertising, don't you think? Disclaimer: I do not agree with nor endorse the use of "Sponsored Links" possibly embedded in my posts by the owner of this or any other website. Linda
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Susan, Cheyenne Spirit was bred by Pan AM Seed and Keift Seed breeder Ping Ren in Illinois. I assume the seed is being produced in The Netherlands. I knew it was being trialed in the AAS Trial Gardens so have been watching it for a couple of years. Last year the seed was available from a handful of online retailers, and I almost purchased it then, but (mindful of the disappointment in Terra Nova's pricey new echinaceas the last few years) I really wanted to wait and see how this variety performed in the AAS Trials. Since "Cheyenne Spirit" was trialed in 37 AAS Trial Gardens across the USA and was selected as an AAS winner, I have high hopes for it. There's no way to know, though, without trying it and seeing how it does, which is precisely what I intend to do. I feel like any plant that was trialed for multiple years in AAS Trial Gardens in the recent drought years has to be really good to emerge a winner. I think the watermelon looks very interesting. My dad's family grew Moon and Stars when he was a kid, and I still plant it about 1 year out of 3. I'd grow it more often, but the plants take up so much space and I'd rather grow smaller refrigerator-sized melons. Thus, I find this new watermelon very intriguing and likely will grow it in 2013 if seeds are available early enough, or in 2014. It looks like it would produce a nice melon that's larger than the refrigerator melons but not nearly as huge as the regular OP Moon and Stars. I already have my Grow List pretty much figured out for 2013, but I always leave a little room to try a few new things. We have a new fenced garden area with very sandy/silty soil that we used last year for the first time in about a decade. I had grown flowers and winter squash there before in and prior to 2006, but then the deer discovered the garden and that area wasn't fenced, so I stopped using it. This year I grew corn and 'Moon and Stars' watermelong there along with some Tahitian Melon winter squash and some drought-tolerant bush beans called Kebarika. That soil is so sandy that the moisture just ran right through it and I had to water and water and water those plants like crazy this past summer. After I amend that area's soil by adding a whole lot of organic matter and some chicken manure this winter, I think it will be a great place to grow watermelons and sweet potatoes, so that's likely where I'll plant both those crops this coming spring. I'd like to grow the new watermelon variety there. I find the color range of the Cheyenne Spirit echinaceas very intriguing and they'd look great with the other hot colors of plants like butterfly weed, Texas star hibiscus, and zinnias that I always grow in the veggie garden's flower border. I love hot colors in that area because those hot-colored flowers seem to attract oodles of pollinators. Dawn
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cannahavana
19 years ago
Great shot, Stephen! I have been seeing my hummers hitting my Madame Butterfly this year. It is also the closest to one of the feeders.
Mvespa
19 years ago
Where did you get the Mina lobata vine? I would love one next year, particularly because my name is Mina and the flowers are gorgeous!
Your garden is spectacular!
Michael_QvQ
19 years ago
Beautiful pics of your gorgeous gardens Stephen! Very well done and thank you for sharing them.
vickster257
19 years ago
Love your photos, especially the hummer in flight; what am I saying I love them all!!

I would like to know what kind of camera you are using, shutter speed, digital zoom, and how long does it take to take a photo image of these lovely birds? I have a feeder set up at my "computer window" and with the screen outside of the window, the image looks terrible. And the h. does not sit very long. I can either remove the screen, and if I meander about outside, they scurry off so quickly, so what is your secret, Stephen? There is a cypress vine over the shepherd's crook and they love the flowers, and I have these pretty tropicana cannas in full orange bloom so the basic necessities are here. Do you have to use a tripod? Still haven't been able to post an image yet. Can you help?

Thank you for listening. Vicki
stephenNJ
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks guys for all of your wonderful comments!

Mve- I got the mina vine last winter in the exchange forum.I'm not sure from whom.It's doing very well and I will be saving seeds so if you want to trade just email me in the fall.I love trading seeds!

Vicki- I have a panasonic FZ1 which does not have an adjustable exposure on it :(
I wish it did because I would set it to the quickest setting.I have tons of "bad" photos but just have a few keepers.I just take photos by hand but a tripod would be nice...someday.
Tropicannas , much like the other 'showy-er' Cannas do not produce much nectar , try to get your hands on Robert Kemp,Panache,Omega,India Prince,Intrigue or any of the more spikey flowering Cannas to get the hummers interested.The spikey ones have tons of nectar and the hummers will learn quickly that there is sweet stuff in there.Cardinal Climber of course is great for hummers , especially when the blooms first come out in the A.M. of each day.

If you wear a red shirt when you are in the garden they will come right up to you and check you out! If you are quick you can get a pic of them from just a few feet away.
I hope I answered all your questions and
Happy Canna gardening!!
-stephen
dees
19 years ago
Steven, your garden is beautiful! I had to show it to my husband, as I'm wanting to put in a huge canna/elephant ear bed next year, if I can come up with enough cannas and elephant ears. LOL (we just moved from a house with a very shady yard, to one with 95% sunshine)Yours is the closest that I've seen to what I want. It is wonderful!!
stephenNJ
Original Author
19 years ago
thankyou Dee for your wonderful comments! Cannas sure do make gardening easy, except when you have to dig out the rhyzomes in the fall!
~stephen
texas_eyes
19 years ago
DeeS if it's Skyhawks you want, email me, I got 'em.

"eyes"
dees
19 years ago
Texas Eyes, I just saw your post about a month ago and tried e-mailing you. If you still have "skyhawk", please e-mail me.Thanks
Dee
Heather__Michigan
18 years ago
Sept. hummer on Spider Flower is my fave!
You're photographs should be published! Do you ever look at" Birds And Blooms" magazine? You could win a prize with some of these pictures!

Beautiful!!!!!
H-
skygardening
18 years ago
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed going through your garden pictures. It was beautiful!
Sky~~
grannymarsh
18 years ago
Love your slide show. The Cedar Waxwing photo is an eyecatcher!!
Thanks for sharing.
irish_rose_grower
18 years ago
I just loved looking at all of your pictures, the flowers and birds are beautiful. Your gardens are awesome. I love them!!

Maureen

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