DO YOU WONDER

if you will ever solve Mother Nature's puzzle with no pieces missing?

I thought I had done everything right; a nice bright colored glass hanging feeder filled with a nutritious scientific formula, but still no hummingbirds enjoying the spread I provided.

Then I looked around and realized there wasn't a single blooming plant in the immediate landscape that would attract a hummingbird to investigate.  The feeder is in the back yard.  Currently the blooming plants, the crabapple tree, and Oregon Grape are in the front yard.  Make a note to self to buy an appropriate early blooming perennial now and plant it close to the feeder so it can establish growth during the summer. 

The Honeysuckle vine is developing flower buds and will probably bloom in a week to ten days.  Tracking the time from bud to break will go in the garden journal this year.  In the meantime, I just may have to stop in a local nursery and find an early blooming annual (any excuse, right?).

James Baggett, of OSU tomato development fame, wrote an article years ago about hummers.  I recently reread the article and it gave me a wider perspective.  He wrote that not seeing hummers in late spring may be that they have settled down to nest.  Baggett also stresses the importance of providing patches of various flowers in addition to trees and shrubs that would provide protein in the form of spiders, soft-bodied insects and larvae.

Top picks Baggett chose for his article included the following:

Penstemon spp. Their vibrant flowers in shades of bright red, pink, lavender and pure white, are naturally tailored to provide nectar-sipping access to hummingbirds on plants that come in a wide range of sizes.  Penstemon varieties are listed on the Central Oregon Native Plant List, the Fire-Resistant Plant List and the Water-Wise Gardening in Central Oregon list.  Penstemons are rated a low number 2 on the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS).   USDA Zones 3-10

Agastache spp.  Commonly called Hummingbird Mint.  One of more common names is anise hyssop implies the crushed leaves usually smell just like licorice.  Blooms in spikes of lavender. pink, red, orange, yellow or purple on tightly packed blossoms in med-to-late summer.  Listed in the Water-Wise Gardening publication.  Ogren Plant Allergy Scale rating is a low 3.  USDA Zones 4-9

Salvia nemorosa. Salvias and hummingbirds go hand in hand.  That's because many species of ornamental salvias, nearly 1,000 most not hardy, can only be pollinated by  hummingbirds.  After the first flush of flowers have faded, cut the plants back to about a third.  The variety Salvia sylvestris is listed in the Water- Wise Gardening publication, and the Fire-Resistant Plant List.  The Ogren Plant Allergy Scale is listed as 1-4 depending on the variety.  USDA Zones 4-9 

Trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens.  This vine that attracts hummingbirds and is a host plant for the Spring Azure butterfly, Celastrinia echo.  Spring Azure butterfly is listed in The Butterflies of Central Oregon.  Honeysuckles are listed in the Water-Wise Gardening, and the Fire-Resistant Plant List.  Ogren Plant Allergy rating is a little high, 5-6.  USDA Zone 4-9

Bee Balm, Monarda didyma.  In addition to attracting bees, hummingbirds are attracted to it.  Bee balm is in the mint family and its dried leaves are used to make bergamot tea (the flavor of Earl Grey).  The mop-top flowers emerge from a bushy plant and come in white, red, purple, and pink.  Deadhead to encourage additional blooms.  USDA Zones 3-9

Columbine, Aquilegia species.  Native and ornamental varies are an important source of nectar for hummers.  Remove spent flowers to encourage prolonged blooming.  Short-lived but will reseed.  Western columbine, Aquilegia formosa  is listed in on the Central Oregon Native Plant list.  Also listed in the Water-Wise Gardening and the Fire-Resistant Plant publications.  The Ogren Allergy rating is 1.  USDA Zone 3-9.

So, in reality Mother Nature's puzzle is never really finished.  There is always a piece missing or the wrong piece in the wrong place.