Dotty, that's so funny. As I looked at your subject line, I was picturing the hummingbird I've been seeing this week and wondering if this might be where to mention it :)

This time of year I take my magic when I can find it. Three mornings this week there has been one hummingbird visiting containerized nepeta and corydalis blackberry wine on my deck. What caught my attention first was the handful of gold finches having an animated conversation with the chickadees, then noticed the hummingbird and got my smile for the day.

Dotty, I would of loved to have seen that, I have yet to say for sure I've seen the Annas in my garden, there have been reports of them being in my area though. For years they've been in the Departure Bay area and I have a friend who lives close to the hospital who feeds them all winter long. I think I may have seen one in my garden this summer, I looked out the kitchen window just in time to see it flying through the arch. It's back was quite a brilliant green, not the olive green seen on the Rufus. We take our feeders down when the Rufus leave, maybe I should hang one back up and see what happens.

A......

By all means, leave your feeders up! Anna's are regular residents in this area, as their winter range runs from southern Alaska all along the coastal areas to northern California. It is not at all uncommon to have a colony of Anna's as year round residents in your garden.

In fact, winter is the only time I DO hang out hummingbird feeders. I'm too busy in the summer months to maintain the feeders properly on a daily basis and they don't seem to miss them as there are tons of plants they find attractive, so no shortage of nectar sources. But in winter these become more scarce, so out go my feeders, one right in front of my dining room window. What a great and entertaining show that is!! And it is such a joy to hear them trilling and calling and swooping around the nursery as well - there doesn't seem to be much less activity from them in winter compared to summer. They are always present.

And they are quite creative in seeking out plant choices in the winter months. My own little group is busy with late flowering phygelius and hardy fuchsias now, but I've seen them feed at winter blooming heathers and hellebores, skimmias and sarcococca, Viburnum tinus and then the mahonias when they start blooming, followed by the rest of the late winter bloomers. It's such a treat to see them perched on a snow or frost covered branch in the middle of winter. Mine do seem to disappear for a period of time in March/early April - I suspect they are nesting and tending tiny offspring.

I am still smiling from yesterday's encounter. I thought about putting up a feeder, but we might be going away for awhile in January or February. I'd hate to see them become dependent upon a feeder and not be able to keep it up. Would it be ok to put up a feeder if it gets really cold or snowy? Gardengal, what plants would be best to plant now for winter blooms? Keeping in mind that I have a deer problem too. I do have heathers.

I planted Grevillea 'Poorinda Constance' about 9 years ago and have had hummingbirds pretty much all the time since it started blooming. It blooms almost all year and hummingbirds really like it.

Dotty, here's a few choices that will bloom anywhere from late fall through to early/mid spring, depending on choice and/or weather conditions:

Winter blooming honeysuckle - Lonicera fragrantssima, standishii or x purpusii
Sarcococca
Skimmia
Camellia sasanqua
Corylopsis
Ribes spp
various viburnums
Mahonia x media, japonica, lomarifolia
flowering quince
witch hazel
Arbutus unedo
Stachyurus
early blooming rhodies (PJM's, Snow Lady, mucronulatum, Cilpinense, sometimes Christmas Cheer)
Jasminum nudiflorum
Grevillea spp.
Bergenia cordifolia
Clematis cirrhosa, armandii, x cartmanii
sometimes barberries - B. darwinii or 'Corallinum Compacta'
hellebores

Thanks Ian and Gardengal. I have some of those winter flowering plants on your list but I certainly will add to them. The Grevillea looks super -- does it need to be in a protected place? I might put one on the South side of our barn where it will get lots of sun and some reflected heat from the barn.

Dotty,

Thanks so much for the reminder :-)

Ever since I started my little project, I have looked forward to having a little gaggle of my own. As I've waited for many of my plantings to mature and bloom, I placed 3 different feeders with no success. I know they are around because they will come early in the AM sometimes when I'm watering and hover in front of my spray nozzle. I'll patiently explain to them where the flowers and feeders are but........:-(

My inlaws live in a retirement center and they have them like crazy on their second floor balcony so I've had to leave my little mini garden of eden and go over there just to get my fix. They just replaced their feeder with one of the Oasis type that look like a flying saucer and that quadrupled their visitors. After reading your post, I spent a bunch of time this weekend on the HB forum here and researching on the net and went and bought a new feeder to try and see if I couldn't convince them to come NOW and be patient until I have more for them.

I've got a lot of plants on GG's list and I'm going to add some grevilleas and more salvias as soon as I can find them. I get so busy going forward with each next phase that I forget how bad I want a garden full of hummers and butterflies. I get tons of the latter but thank you so much for reminding me how bad I covet the former :-)

I'm in the Long Lake area of Nanaimo. I've had the hummers feeding all winter long for the last three years. I was out in my garden last week and two hummers were around all afternoon darting around and probably fighting over who would get the feeder. I have one in front and back of my house. They are seen daily. Last year when it was so cold I hung a light bulb near the feeders so it wouldn't freeze over in the day. I love those little guys flying around, they're beautiful.My fuschias are still blooming and some honey suckle which they really like. Dotty it is wonderful you saw one too.
Cindy

Dotty,

I bought another water feature yesterday and was outside early this AM trying to decide how and where to place it. It was very cold here last night and there was lots of frost on the ground. As I was standing there looking at the wall where I'm going to mount this fountain, this cute lil fellar came buzzing by and headed straight for the feeder. It stayed and drank for about 5 minutes and then sat and rested in my Japanese Pagoda for another 5 before taking another couple of chugs for the road. I had almost given up on this year so it brought to mind that infamous line from Dumb and Dumber......"Just when you think......."

I just saw a green hummer at my fuchsia! The feeder is going up as soon as I get dressed. :)

Amy in Victoria

I've been outside all morning and have had activity the whole time. There's a little snow fountain cherry tree about 10' from the feeder and it just keeps going back and forth. It's like it doesn't really even have to commute :-) There's probably 3 or 4 that have been coming and going but this one just hangs out.

They're such a wonder -- especially in the wintertime. I love to hear others' stories about these tiny visitors.

I was outside all day, got my wall fountain installed, transplanted an abelia and planted a mess of daff and hyacinth bulbs. Every single time I turned to look, my new found friend was either perched in the little cherry or on the feeder. When I finally went in and plopped in my LazyBoy to watch the Apple Cup, I could still see him through the sliding glass door and he stayed till dark.

With all the nasty weather that everyone has been enduring, I was thinking about what was said earlier in this thread about taking your magic where you can find it at this time of year. The hummingbirds really are like magic. Every time the feeder got covered with snow, I'd go out and clean it off and they be back before I could even get back in to my recliner. My feeder is a ways from my chair so the other day when I was at Big 5 to buy a pair of boots, I found a spotting scope that attaches to a little tripod and even has a mount for a digital camera. I've been watching the Annas and even though they can't make the rain or snow go away, they sure take the focus offn it :-)

We're nearing the end of a major remodel (kitchen, etc) so I had to move my hum feeder to the front of the house. The Annas found it and at this time of the year we see them all the time. If I stand near the feeder, I am regularly buzzed and "chicked at" by the hums. My cat likes to sit in a window below the feeder and watch the show; I see the hums fly down the outside of the window to more closely inspect the cat...

Christine

:o)) The Anna's have arrived at my feeder, looked out the kitchen window and saw two not one at the feeder. This is the first time I can honestly say I have Anna's at our feeder. Great early Christmas present. Thanks Gardengal, putting the feeder back up and a little patience worked. Now we can watch these enchanting little birds all winter long.

A......