We have raspberry plants with ripe berries on them in the nursery, and they’re very appealing to another type of baby–baby humans! I didn’t get a picture of her eating them, but she picked every ripe one on Sunday. We were happy to share, and more ripen every day.
The baby phoebes are getting bigger and soon they’ll fledge. They grow up so fast. 
If your garden looks a little drab in July, think about planting some of these mid-summer stars: Gaillardia, Echinacea, Daylilies, Yarrow, and of course the almost-always-blooming Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low.’ Here are some that are blooming today in the nursery.
The Kniphofias look really good with daylilies, echoing or complimenting their colors and contrasting with their form. Kniphofias (AKA Red Hot Pokers) and daylilies are at their peak in July.
We’re open this weekend, June 26-29, and then closed in July. We’ll reopen in August with new plants and fall favorites!
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Rufous hummingbird
It’s important to provide food all during the growing season, because it doesn’t help the bees if your garden is full of flowers in May and then there’s nothing for them to eat in August or September. Provide a diverse ecosystem and you’ll attract lots of hummingbirds and butterflies and bees.
All the butterflies like pincushion flower. And so do the hummingbird moths (AKA sphinxmoths.)
Bees are everywhere here at Perennial Favorites. They’re not aggressive or mean, they work right alongside me as I plant and weed in the garden. I know that some people are severely allergic and can’t take the chance of getting accidentally stung, but for the rest of us, bees are good companions in the garden.
Bee on Russian Sage
Remember that you cannot spray insecticides if you want to attracts pollinators. There’s been a lot of news lately about the neonicotinoids, a class of chemicals that are particularly toxic to bees and birds. We have never used them here and never will! Unfortunately, saying “NO to Neonics” is not enough. I’m afraid that many of the big growers will just switch to another insecticide that could be even more toxic but that hasn’t received the bad press that Neonics have. When Neonicotinoids were first introduced, they were considered a much milder, more gentle insecticide that what was used at the time, mostly organophosphates. (We’ve never used those either!) The only insecticides we use are soap and neem–both of those are certified organic insecticides–and even with them we are cautious and don’t spray when bees are out. Organic certified doesn’t mean that it’s safe for bees.
This is Kniphofia ‘Mango Echo.’ Kniphofia is native to Africa where they have a bird much like our hummingbird called sunbird. Sunbirds drink nectar from the kniphofias, and so do our hummingbirds. It’s called convergent evolution (something to Google in your spare time.)
Here’s a picture of the hummingbird garden. All the birds flew away when I came out to take the picture. In the bottom left corner you can see a red salvia blooming. Salvia darcyi is native to Mexico and a favorite of hummingbirds. I’ve never been able to get it to survive the winter here, but I’m trying again. I want it to live! That’s the honeysuckle vine that was in the first picture of this post. You can see why they like it. They can sit on a branch and survey the feeders and the flowers. The agastache is just starting to bloom, too, and that is a fantastic late summer plant for hummers and butterflies.
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