Watching these critters IS addicting. Our property is registered with the National Wildlife Fed. as a Backyard Habitat. I never get tired of watching the butterflies and hummers. The Feeder Wars are in full swing in our yard!
Enjoy your garden!
Jane

thanks Jane...sounds like you have an amazing garden...cant wait till I am finished (not that I will ever be) lol then I guess instead of cutting grass I will be weeding...thrilling lol...but I think it well worth it

steve

just get rid of that lawnmower, you don't need it. wall to wall salvias, beebalm, vines and trees. sounds good to me.

It's a great feeling to have hummies visit your yard and feeders!!!

I suggest you put out a swing and cuddle up with the wife and enjoy their antics on a late afternoon.

I miss the huge magnolia trees of Tennessee :o)

~ Cat

Glad to have another convert. Welcome to the forum!

I have found that the hummingbird garden is a great diversion from my rosebed, which is now the Japanese Beetle garden. Most of the hummer plants look pretty good in mid summer. Activity has picked up too.

Welcome Steve. You have found the right place to vist to share your addiction.

Welcome to the insanity Steve. It's a great place to be. Soon, you'll be carrying in armloads of "hummer plants" and replacing alot of plants you used to like to make room for them. Linda

Take it slow there Steve, like that first drink. At first it is just your lawn that is at risk, but watch out for your veggie garden. You might start growing and rooting your own salvias, agastaches, and such. They need some place to grow apart what will soon become your overcrowded flower beds. It happened to me this year. As a result of being outsmarted by woodchucks, empty space appeared in the veggie garden. Nature deplores a vacuun, and now there's a row of salvias. Sometimes though you get convergence. Here are two things to think about. Hummingbirds like pole lima beans, which is good, because so do I. Also, if you grow tall peas on a trellis, you can underplant the peas with Cardinal climber in late May, and when the peas are done by early July the cardinal climber will take over.

Hi Steve and welcome...funny how fast you get addicted, isn't it? Know what I like best about watching the hummers? It makes you slow down and relax. I can have a bad day at work and come home all ill and grumpy and then spend an hour watching the Air Wars and I'm smiling again. I figure the cost of some plants and some sugar is way cheaper than therapy. ;)

ward: "nature deplores a vacuum, and now there's a row of salvias" LOL...I like the way you think!

I have started planting and propagating my own already...I have a 4x6 greenhouse wheich is usually stuffed lol...If I just bought plants this year I would of spent over 1000 bucks on plants...lol...I did get some shrubs from online nurseries which I plan on propagating as well...even have though of started a small nursery buiesness...anyways Thanks for the warm welcome

Steve

Ahhhh.... another addict. And one with a greenhouse too! You will surely be in hummer heaven when all those plants are flowering. :-D

In that case, Steve...therapy might be cheaper for you, LOL. But not nearly as much fun. Good luck with the nursery idea if you decide to go for it...not necessarily the easiest job, but rewarding.

Another welcome here Steve! I actually ripped out my roses last year so I would have more room for more and more hummer plants. The roses were too much work and most of my hummer plants are carefree. I also propagate most of my own plants as do several of us here. I wintersow most of my seeds with the exception of a rare plant or two that I can't get seed for.

Penny

Another late welcome Steve! Like Penny, I actually took out quite a few of my roses to make room for some of the hummingbird plants and I am not anywhere near done, or even close to done yet. Now I will only keep the easy care roses. Most of the hummingbird plants are easier to maintain anyway and have provided us with a lot more enjoyment. That is great that you have a greenhouse.

Welcome Steve,
It's so nice to have more people needing a fix. Call us Jewel Junkies.

Okay, after reading about the fun of watching hummingbirds--I have now joined the ranks of the addicted. It is January and I already bought three feeders! I can't wait until they arrive. Can anyone tell me when the HB's are expected to arrive in Georgia (Zone 7B)? I have my feeders out now (half full of course) in the hopes that a little straggler will stop in my yard for sip.

I've got it bad folks!

Doubt you'll have stragglers that far north and not on the coast, but stranger things have happened! Welcome, Tiffaney! Be sure to change the nectar every week or so in the winter and more often in the spring/summer when it heats up. Doubt you'll see a hummer til around March or so, but keep your eyes peeled!

--Jane in Br,LA

Tiffaney
You can leave those feeders up. There are vagrants all over the country even up here in the northeast. I received an emal over Christmas from a hummer friend in Ontario, Canada that has a neighbor with a Rufous in her yard.

Usually the new Spring migration Map will be posted at hummingbirds.net in late Feb. or early March. Mine start arriving up here in western NY in late April and I usually hang my first feeder in early to mid April although with so many migrants in the area I should probably still have at least one up now. Be sure to bookmark the map page so you are ready in spring to watch their migration.

Penny

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Migration Map