On Monday (21st) we went back to the garden as we woke up to sunshine and cooler temperatures. It was 64 degrees when we left the house. In today's post I am sharing Gregg's photos of the hummingbird we saw.
I don't know my hummingbirds very well, so perhaps someone who does can name this one. It seems to have little white tips on the end of its tail feathers.
I have cropped each photo and put the cropped version below the original.
Not necessarily about this particular one, the red lettering will take you to an interesting field guide here.
Below you can see the flowers this little hummer was so interested in. I am pretty sure it is the Lobelia laxiflora var angustifolia, also Sierra Madre Lobelia. A very hardy flower and easy to grow.
This flower was named after a French botanist and herbalist Matthias de l'Obel (1538-1616). It is in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae.
Its several common names include Mexican lobelia, Sierra Madre lobelia, Mexican cardinal flower, loose flowers lobelia and drooping lobelia. In Spanish and Nahuatl it is known as aretitos. Very easy to grow and it attracts hummingbirds from June until Fall. The plant can live up to 16 plus years, and still thrive.
It is native to the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico, and as such is highly adaptable to changeable circumstances. Producing many flowers it is able to completely spread in a garden with a profusion of willowy leaves and flowers. They grow 3 feet tall x 4 feet wide.
Thanks for looking and I wish you all a great day.
