The hummingbirds showed up very late this year. I was fretting they would not show up at all. But, we've had two female Ruby-throated move into our garden in the last couple of weeks. So exciting. Over the last week, they've become more accustomed to our presence and are now zipping around just a few feet from us. (click photos to enlarge)

I have a bounty of blooms in the garden for them to feed on such as the bog sage, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue', above. They also like the Rose of Sharon, Rattlebox and the multitudes of other salvias in the garden.

They've also finally discovered the feeder that hangs right by the front door above the salvia. You can see a few red droplets in the neck on the one to the left. As they are territorial, I've found them perched close to the feeder more often, guarding it. I can't tell if these two are working together or if they are fighting for the feeder. They zip around in the air together in a sort of dance, but it's possible they are fighting over the turf.

We got some good video of them feeding at the feeder. As soon as I have a good format in which to post it, I'll get that up. Bees, butterflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds..the front yard is abuzz!! So fun.

House Bill HR 2749 - the FoodSafety Enhancement Act of 2009 - is a bad bill. You need to read it andmake your voice heard. Food contamination and animal abuse comes fromlarge scale commercial ag techniques, not small diversified farming orbackyardgardens. The poor American diet comes from large scale "food" science,not the fresh produce sold at you local farmer's market.Over-regulation. Wrong regulation.

You can Farm-to-Consumer for more and petitions to sign for your reps.

Yes, you can actually have some beauty in the August garden, despite the scorching heat! Here are a few of my August garden lovelies...

A fragrant pale cream daylily I've forgotten the cultivar name for and a weeping dwarf crapemyrtle entwined with sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) 

Echinacea 'Sunset' flanked with Angelonia 'Serena Purple', 'Tamora' Rose and Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and dwarf Philippine lily

The hummingbirds finally started showing up last week. Yay! I was really surprised at how late they finally made it to our garden this year. I have lots of plants in the front garden they can feed on, such as the Rattlebox tree in the photo, Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue', Angelonia, Autumn sage, Salvia 'Mystic Sprires' and so on. We also hang a feeder or two near the front door. We currently have two females that are either competing for the turf or are youngin's from the same nest. I think they are nesting in a large crapemyrtle next to the house. They put on a show each morning at about 8am, where they will zip around the yard together. On Sunday morning, I came face to face with one.

Hummingbirds will make visual associations with people, especially ifthey see you around their feeding area consistently for about a month.They you might find they'll come right up to you or feed in yourpresence without being afraid. Good times. I tried getting some photos of them on Sunday, but couldn't get a clear shot. Will keep trying...

nature takes care of things for you! So if you happen to be less than aggressive about getting your okra harvested on time, you'll find that the pods will dry on the plant and drop to the ground. There the seeds will germinate giving you your next fall crop of okra plants. Convenient eh? Now is the time to plant either new okra transplants, or start them from seed for fall harvest. I just do mine the lazy way!