10 things I love about the garden

Please bear in mind that this is by no means a complete list. But here are 10 things I'm thinking about in anticipation of the growing season. In no particular order of importance:

1. The chance to experiment with lilies like this beauty we bought at a sale at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

 

2. Cold drinks in the "cocktail lounge."

3. Bodacious clumps of daffodils behind ferns.

4. Frogs in the pond.

5. Brian cooking Thai green beans with pork in the garden.

Weekend news of note

 The first magnolia blossom at sillydoggarden.

Two markers to document this weekend: 1. Hummingbirds have returned. They've been spotted working over the lungwort. 2. The magnolia has flowered. So what if it's only two flowers. You have to start somewhere.

The poor shrub has had a tough time settling in. It's a star magnolia, Magnolia stellata, probably 'Royal Star.' It's now four or five years old and we almost pulled it out after the first year. It died back completely after its first winter, but some new growth at the base persuaded us to give it another shot. Patience and persistence, again, pay off.

Tiny, mighty hummingbirds

Brian managed to get the best shot of a hummingbird so far this summer. This one is feeding on the bee balm.

Hummingbirds have to be among the coolest birds ever. So tiny, but so fearless! They hover and divebomb and buzz our heads seemingly without care. We've had ruby-throated hummingbirds all summer, but activity seems to have ramped up the past few weeks. One sunny day this week, there were five at one time trolling for nectar on the bee balm. I suppose they're loading up on food in anticipation of the fall migration. I don't plant specifically to attract them; it just seems that we favor many of the same plants -- such as bee balm and catmint. But they're really not picky -- I've seen them at almost anything in bloom.

Hummingbirds migrate alone. Worldofhummingbirds.com describes them as commuters on a freeway, all going the same way on the same road but doing it alone. Sounds kind of sad and inefficient, but there really are good reasons for going it alone, not the least of which is it makes them a less visible target for predators.

If you feel like traveling this weekend, there's a hummingbird festival in Henderson, Minn.