Yes, another hummingbird favorite growing in my garden!
This red salvia is also loved by bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
Whenever the hummers discover an especially tasty blossom …
… they stay focused on the flower and stick their beaks all the way in.
Until they move on to the next one.
As powerful as their wings are, their feet are small and not very strong.
They don’t really use them to walk, just to perch.
🙂
in cahoots with muddy boots 
Gorgeous, Sabine! You always seem to be in the right place – with a camera – at the right time. While our hummers haven’t returned yet, all of the other birds in our area are singing their nature songs! Thanks for sharing your view of nature with us!
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Thank you Missy! There are times when I don’t have a camera in my hands to just enjoy it quietly. We have several hummers come by all day long now and some are beginning to share the feeders. Have a great weekend!
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And you do the same!
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Salvias … it appears from your recent post and this one, they are a magnet for hummingbirds. At first I thought it was a cardinal vine, but then you said Salvia. Those tiny feet – since I only saw “my” hummingbird a handful of times and once perching, I really never noticed the feet before. You get the best shots Sabine!
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Salvias are a definite magnet! I don’t know if there are any hardy enough for your winters, Linda! I planted a couple of cardinal flowers a couple of years ago but they have been slow to get going. And their feet are so tiny and weak that they rarely walk. As for the best shots, Linda, once you get to know them you get better at capturing those fun moments! Thank you Linda! 🙋♀️
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When I’m retired, I’d like to get back into gardening again Sabine, but I will pick perennials that are hardier than my zone (6A) so hopefully I don’t lose any during another Polar Vortex like before. I didn’t know that Salvias could overwinter …our Winters are too cold for any overwintering unless they are taken inside. 🙂 I lost the three butterfly bushes which were only two years old, but my Coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans all died … my yard was full of them, some planted in the early 90s so well established.
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Well I hope you’ll keep blogging then because it would be fun to see you create a new garden. Lilacs are good in your climate. We saw the most incredible lilacs ever when we visited Quebec City a number of years ago. They have your kind of winter I believe!
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I like lilacs and have two small trees, though one does not bloom much now and it looks spindly. The darker lilac tree is behind two very large fire bushes and they cut off its light I think. My father planted those lilacs and fire bushes right after we moved here in 1966 … the fire bushes are so tall, I can’t prune them anymore as I’m scared to go too high on the ladder. The light-colored one looked better but my neighbor’s Wisteria bush choked part of it … I didn’t notice its tendrils choking it. He has since cut it down.
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Check for an extension pole pruner, Linda! They are very handy. And sometimes when a shrub gets super overgrown, you might consider pruning it way back. That often helps greatly with refreshing woody and unsightly bushes. I’m working on some in my garden. Good luck with it!
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Thanks for that idea, but I do have a pole pruner Sabine – I had to get it to trim the pyracantha bush which is nearly as tall as the house and difficult to prune, but the problem is these two fire bushes grow against the back fence so the only way to properly trim it is to go onto the backyard neighbor’s property and I really don’t want to do that. I used to trim them from the backyard neighbor’s yard, but that owner died and the bank took over the house.
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Oh! I’m sure you’ll find a solution for the pruning. I spent much of yesterday out in the garden pruning unwieldy shrubs. Lots more to do but I’m spacing it since we can’t put the yard waste out all at once, so it’s an ongoing project.
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Luckily the bushes are pretty round, so they don’t look unruly. A handyman I used to have used to trim them as I don’t like climbing on a ladder and he had to stand on the top rung to prune them. I have a long pole but only use it on the Pyracantha and that’s a big job as it is thorny. Our yard waste does not begin until April 5th. I have to see how my roses fare this year … one I think has bitten the dust.
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In the last photo, the little hummer’s feet hang down, perhaps relaxed. It’s just sweet to see those little feet! They deserve a documentary of their own.
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Hummingbirds do have tiny feet! The feet might look relaxed, but I rarely feel that the rest of this bird is. They are always on the go! 😉
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