We've seen the green-backed Anna's hummingbird at our feeder all last summer and all this winter, but this morning I was out there and saw a rufous for the first time. The linked article says their wings make a buzzy sound, which I heard. It was intermittent like a cricket, but it stopped when he sat in the tree above the feeder. The article also says they're territorial and very aggressive, so maybe there's a battle in the offing. This Wikipedia article has some really good pictures.
I completed the "first draft" of my fountain a couple of weeks ago.
I rescued (transplanted) a tall, gangly viburnum 'Dawn' from the top of the back slope where it was hidden by a ceanothus (Calif. lilac) that had grown much faster. I put the viburnum in the other end of this little flowerbed where the fountain is. I need to get a picture of it. It's about eight feet tall and was quite a wrestling match to dig up and carry down to its new spot, but it looks happy there already. It needed staking because it's so tall.
I have tried two trees in this same bed. The first one, a redbud, turned yellow and died. The second one, a Japanese stewartia, struggled (possibly too much sun and not enough water) and now I've moved it to a new spot to see if it can recover with less direct beating sun--or whether it's dead. The viburnum 'Dawn,' though, I've had great luck with. I have four in various good and bad locations, and the only difference water and sun seem to make is in how fast they grow. This is my favorite plant of all time.
I completed the "first draft" of my fountain a couple of weeks ago.
I rescued (transplanted) a tall, gangly viburnum 'Dawn' from the top of the back slope where it was hidden by a ceanothus (Calif. lilac) that had grown much faster. I put the viburnum in the other end of this little flowerbed where the fountain is. I need to get a picture of it. It's about eight feet tall and was quite a wrestling match to dig up and carry down to its new spot, but it looks happy there already. It needed staking because it's so tall.
I have tried two trees in this same bed. The first one, a redbud, turned yellow and died. The second one, a Japanese stewartia, struggled (possibly too much sun and not enough water) and now I've moved it to a new spot to see if it can recover with less direct beating sun--or whether it's dead. The viburnum 'Dawn,' though, I've had great luck with. I have four in various good and bad locations, and the only difference water and sun seem to make is in how fast they grow. This is my favorite plant of all time.
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