Westmont Garden Club June 2017 Meeting

The Westmont Garden Club held its monthly meeting at the home of the Program Director on Saturday, June 29, 2017.

Sher Dunaway, Tarrant County Master Gardner, presented the program titled, “Hummingbirds, The Flying Jewels of the Garden”.

Hummingbirds are the smallest of all the birds. It would require 150 hummers to make up one pound.  Hosting them is most rewarding.  Their heart beats 500-900 times a minute.  Except for Coastal Texas where a few hummingbirds remain year around, most spend time in the offseason in Mexico and Central America.  Hummingbirds migrate alone; they do not fly in groups.  Every year since 1988, Rockport and Fulton have hosted a Hummingbird celebration.

Hummingbird Festival

Hummingbird nests are about the size of a walnut and the diameter of a penny.  They use spider webs to make the nest as the webs keep the lyceum and plant material in place.  The female lays 1 egg then skips a day then lays another egg.  The babies are about the size of a jelly bean and are 

featherless.  Fledging occurs at about 3 weeks then the babies are ready to leave the nest at about 6 weeks. 

They lap up the nectar at about 12 times a second.  The beak is long, grooved,  forked and has hairs on the tip to help extract the nectar. 

Plants that attract hummingbirds:

Salvia                            Texas Star Hibiscus             Mexican Bird of Paradise

Price of Barbados

Flowers that attract hummingbirds:

Turk’s Cap                    Red & Yellow Columbine               Coral Honeysuckle

Trumpet Creeper                   Cardinal flower

Favorite plants for hummingbirds:

Bleeding Heart             Red Yucca                             Red Cannas

Four O’Clock’s             Bee Baum

Annuals that attract hummingbirds:

Fuchsias                       Petunia                Shrimp Plant                Impatiens

*And of course wildflowers for all seasons

Shrubs to attract hummingbirds:

Texas Silver Sage                  Autumn Sage Salvia   Russian Sage

Azaleas                                  Butterfly Bush              Hydrangeas

Adam’s Needle                      Yucca

Trees that attract hummingbirds:

Dessert Willow                       Mimosa Trees

Red Bull Tree                        Chastain Vitex Tree

Vines that attract hummingbirds:

Trumpet Creeper                  Wisteria                       Morning Glory    

Passion Flower                     Honeysuckle   

Sher then discussed several types of hummingbirds such as the colors of their feathers what they like to eat, where they are native to and the size of each bird.

Rufous

Black Chinned

          Allen’s

          Anna’s

          Ruby Throated

          Broad Billed

          Board Tailed

          Marvelous Spatuletail

          Costa’s

          Green Violetear

The decline of hummingbirds is due to threats to their environment.

The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth is often mistaken for a hummingbird.  They fly at night while Hummingbirds fly during the day. 

clearwing moth

Next, Sher discussed hummingbird feeders.  The feeders should be hung throughout the garden area.  The recipe for their syrupy is:

                             1 part ordinary cane sugar

                             4 parts water

Do NOT use red coloring, or honey or artificial sweeteners.  The feeders should be kept clean and fresh by changing out the syrupy every 2 to 3 days. 

They also like to eat small bugs such as common yard bugs and garden pests.  These provide the hummers with their protein.  Hummers will turn a garden into a beautiful and harmonious atmosphere.

Sher was presented with a token of appreciation for her interesting and well received presentation.  Door prizes were awarded to several members and each member then received a rain gauge as a meeting favor.

After the meeting, members gathered at a local restaurant for more socializing and to discuss hummingbirds and their environment.