The Passing of Summer

Tonight, in our "exurban" garden well outside of Chicago, four hummingbirds sat at different feeders in the front yard taking their last sips before they headed off to sleep in the surrounding woods. During one fall migration, I watched as a ruby-throated hummingbird, having drunk all it could, flew up a few feet into the weeping cherry tree outside the kitchen window. There it sat very still and eventually put its beak straight up in the air. It was sleeping. I called My Mate to warn him not to come up the front path so he wouldn't wake it. At 5;30 the next morning, it was gone. Hundreds of thousands of ruby throats are heading south from their summer breeding grounds.

Our summer garden residents are likely gone now, heading south. But dozens of other hummingbirds, along with scores of monarch butterflies, are in the garden on these warm days filled with bright blue skies. These winged wonders are signs that summer is passing. The zinnias that I sowed in July are in full bloom and excellent nectar plants for butterflies. The Salvia guarantica 'Black and Blue' and 'Indigo Spires' are wonderful annuals that offer nectar to hummingbirds, clear-winged moths, night-flying moths and crafty bees that manage to get nectar by biting a hole at the base of the flower since they can't fit into . Summer is coming to an end, but as the flowers dry, I'll be saving the seeds of many annuals, taking cuttings of coleus and sweet potato vine and potting up the herbs to bring indoors.

Summer is taking its leave but now is the time -- before you start raking the leaves, to watch what's going on in your garden--from watching the warblers and other birds make their way through your flower beds and borders on the way to their winter grounds to the hordes of late-season hordes of dragonflies that suddenly appear, darting around as they pick off mosquitoes and other miniscule insects. Summer may be passing, but this is the time of reflection for the gardener. Happy gardening...

Nina at This Garden Cooks

Questions or comments? Email me at info@thisgardencooks.com