Henny Penny Farmette

In a single day of darting to and from colorful flowers, the tiny hummingbird consumes nearly half its weight in sugar as it searches for nectar-rich blossoms.

A hummer’s iridescent feathers shimmer as it perches in sunlight at the end of an apricot tree branch

Hummers are attracted by the intense hue of certain flowers such as nasturtiums

Their wings beat so rapidly, they make a purring sound. Ever industrious, these tiny birds work from dawn to dusk. They are drawn to tubular-shaped flowers or brightly colored ones in shades of red, orange, blue, and pink.

If you want to help the hummers refuel, consider putting flowers on your patio or in your garden that appeal to these little energy burners. Or, better still, plant trees, vines, perennial, and annual plants that will produce the flowers that attract hummers. Choose from the list below.

Behind the unfurled buds of the Jane magnolia are the blue blossoms of Borage, an herb  frequented by bees, butterflies, and hummers

Annuals: Borage (blue star flower), impatiens, flowering tobacco, petunia, plox, salvia, and snapdragon

Perennials: aloe, alstomeria, bee balm, California fuschia, cardinal flower, columbine, coral bells, foxglove, gladiolus, parrot’s beak, monkey flower, salvia, and sage

Vines: blood red trumpet vine, cape honeysuckle, lonicera (honeysuckle), flame vine, and trumpet creeper

Trees: acacia, chinaberry tree, citrus, coral tree, eucalyptus, silk tree, and tulip tree

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If you enjoy reading about gardening, keeping chickens and bees, and other backyard farming topics, check out my series of cozy mysteries, including A BEELINE TO MURDER, THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE, and A HIVE OF HOMICIDES (Kensington Publishing, NY)

The novels in this series are all available online and in bookstores everywhere

http://tinyurl.com/ya5vhhpm

A HIVE OF HOMICIDES

http://tinyurl.com/yd7pz7af

Murder of a Queen Bee

https://tinyurl.com/y6ue28xb

A Beeline to Murder

I seldom need an occasion to put in another bed of flowers, but this is National Pollinator Week. I think a new bed is in order to attract local bees, birds, bats, and butterflies–all considered pollinators. Having these small creatures around benefits landscapes, gardens, and orchards.

Between showers and periods of sunlight, this beauty showed up in the bee garden

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has noted that over 75 percent of our plants are pollinated by birds, animals, and insects. We can help ensure these creatures will be around for a long time if we restore their habitats and ensure they have food and water.

A longhorn bee is twice the size of a honeybee

There are many lovely plants you can grow that don’t require a lot of care.

• lavender
• bee balm
• echinacea
• sage
• cilantro
• thyme
• sunflowers
• sweet alyssum
• anemone
• borage
• geraniums
• scented pelargoniums
• mint

Sunflowers are a favorite of bees and the seeds are loved by squirrels and birds

A tapestry of colorful herbs and flowers beautifies your landscape and pollinators love the diversity. If you don’t have a lot of space, grow some of these plants in planter boxes, clay pots, or other types of containers.

Robins drinking from a pottery saucer

Put in a water feature, too, such as a table-top or larger fountain that recycles water. Even a pottery saucer filled each day can attract pollinators.

It won’t take long for the bees and hummingbirds to find the water. Their frequent visits are fun to watch, and they’ll likely be sipping throughout the day.

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If you enjoy reading about farmette topics, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries from Kensington Publishing. My newest novel includes delicious recipes, tips on keeping bees and chickens, and much more. Click on this URL for more information, http://tinyurl.com/ya5vhhpm

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Coming Sept. 2017

Here on the Henny Penny Farmette, we love watching the spectacular aerial maneuvers of male hummingbirds attempting to attract the interest of a nearby female. These gorgeous feathered flirts know how to bedazzle a potential mate with spectacular maneuvers that show off the intense coloring of their iridescent feathers.

A hummer’s iridescent feathers shimmer as it perches in sunlight at the end of an apricot tree branch

Depending on the species, these tiny birds can flutter their wings in a figure eight pattern (they don’t flap them) from 12 to 80 times per second. All that fluttering requires tremendous energy.

Hummers are attracted by the intense hue of certain flowers such as nasturtiums and the promise of nectar

Hummers mainly get their energy from plants with brightly colored, nectar-rich flowers. They will dine at hummingbird feeders filled with red sugar-water and hung around gardens that feature plants with brightly colored blooms, especially if those blooms are high in nectar.  The following is a list of plants known to attract hummingbirds.

• Impatien
• Nasturtium
• Phlox
• Nicotiana (flowering tobacco)
• Salvia (scarlet sage)
• Snapdragon

Cape honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) is a vine with tubular flowers loved by hummingbirds

If you like plants that return each year, tuck in these brightly colored perennials.

Alcea rosea

• Aloe
• Bee Balm
• Columbine
• Coral Bell
• Four-o-clock
• Gladiola
• Penstemon
• Phlox
• Salvia

Shrubs such as the butterfly bush (Buddleia) and the flowering maple, hibiscus, and rosemary hold a special appeal for the hummers. They also will be attracted to blooming vines (especially those with trumpet or tube-shaped flowers in intense colors). Tuck in Cape honeysuckle, flame vine, or the blood-red trumpet creeper and watch the hummers darting in and around these vines from dawn until dusk. For more ideas, visit your local nursery or birding store.

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Do you enjoy reading about farming topics? Check out my cozy mysteries–A BEELINE TO MURDER and also THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE  (both in the Henny Penny Farmette series from Kensington Publishing).

My farm-based novels feature delicious recipes, farming tips, chicken and beekeeping tips, sayings and, of course, a charming cozy mystery. For more info, click on the links under the pictures.

The books are available through online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, BAM, Kobo Books, and Walmart as well as from traditional bookstores everywhere.

See, http://tinyurl.com/hxy3s8q

A Beeline to Murder is the debut novel that launched the Henny Penny Farmette series of mysteries. Initially released as a hardcover novel and in e-book format, it is now available as a mass market paperback.

See, http://tinyurl.com/h4kou4g

NEWLY RELEASED! This, the second cozy mystery in the Henny Penny Farmette series, is garnering great reviews from readers and industry publications.

The third novel in the Henny Penny Farmette series is due out in September 2017

Mid-March to early April on the farmette brings the celebration of birthdays and the promise of new selections of flowers for our spring gardens. This year, our new plants are old varieties.

A fellow-gardener friend gave me a selection of antique flowers for pollinators that included Bee Balm, Sweet Alyssum, Prickly Poppy, Sunflowers, and Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate. These will go in various flower beds around our property.

Honeybees at work on a frame of wax

Pollinators include many species of bees. We want them in our gardens to pollinate our fruits, vegetables, berries, and nut crops. Planting open-pollinated flowers enable pollinators to forage for pollen and nectar (their sources of food). When we provide rich food sources for pollinators, our food crops will benefit.

At a time when bee populations are declining worldwide, gardeners everywhere can help the besieged bees by planting diverse, open-pollinated varieties of pollen- and nectar-rich flowers. The following flower selection are considered old garden mainstays.

Bee Balm–“Bergamo”  Monarda hybrida

This perennial likes sun to light shade and soil that is moist, and well-drained. The plant will reach two feet tall and will bloom summer to fall. It attracts both hummingbirds and bees.

Sweet Alyssum–“Benthalmii” Lobularia maritima

Alyssum is an annual that likes full sun but part shade in the hottest areas of hte garden. Soil preferences is rich, moist, and well-drained. It reaches a height of ten inches and small white blooms form summer to fall. It will flower repeatedly if it is clipped back after flowering.

Prickly Poppy–“Busy Bee” Argemone platyceras

A sun lover like all poppies, this one is an annual that loves poor, dry, gravelly soil. It will grow to three feet and bloom throughout the summer into fall. It does have prickly spines, so care must be taken to avoid contact with the spines.

Sunflowers come in a range of sizes

Sunflowers–“Pan,” Helianthus debilis, subspecies: cucumerifolius

Another sun lover, this annual thrives in rich, well-drained soil. Plants will reach three feet in height and bloom summer through the fall. These sunflowers make excellent cut flowers.

Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate–”  Polylgonum orientale

This annual will go at the back of the garden since it reaches a height of six to seven feet. It likes well-drained, moist, rich soil that is located in full sun. The plants bloom summer throughout the fall and self-sows.

If you have limited space, use taller herbs like this lavender in your landscape and gr0w smaller plants like mint in pots

Herb gardens have always held a fascination for me. One of the many reasons I love growing herbs is the scent that many herbs release with bruising that can occur when you brush against plants such as bee balm, rosemary, or lavender.

Most herbs contain fragrant oils (verbena and lavender, for example) that are frequently used in the making of cosmetics. Many herbs reseed themselves, ensuring a perennial supply for medicinal and culinary uses.

For thousands of years, herbs have been added to food to enhance the flavors. In fact, many cuisines of the world are distinctly identifiable from herbs and mixtures of them added to the food.  Imagine Italian marinara without the addition of basil in the tomato sauce; a French meat  or vegetable dish without savory, fennel, sorrel, rosemary, or tarragon; or an English traditional dish without bay leaf, marjoram, garlic, or mint. Consider Greek food without rosemary, thyme, or arugula.

Herbs have been used to flavor vinegar, olive oil, and liqueur. Herbs even play a role in amorous arousal. In France, Verveine du Velay is a vervain-flavored liquer popular in Le Puy. It’s reputation is further enhanced by the popular ages-old perception of it as an aphrodisiac. According to author Jade Britton (The Herbal Healing Bible, Chartwell Books, Inc.), the herbs Siberian ginseng, damiana, and saw palmetto have been used in remedies to treat male infertility along with gingko for increased blood supply to the male sex organ. See, http://www.amazon.com/The-Herbal-Healing-Bible-Traditional/dp/0785829652

While many herbs thrive in well-drained, sunny positions in the garden, others do equally well in part sun/shade. For shade-tolerant herbs, plant the following.

Chives
Cilantro/Coriander
Garlic
Lovage
Lemon Balm
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Sweet Woodruff
Thyme

You can grow herbs in a pot, a coffee can, a half wine barrel, window box, even an old wheel barrow. The point is that herbs are not too fussy. Some are so vigorous as to be considered invasive (mint, for example).  So whether you seek the enhance the flavor of food, add pizazz to a meat dish, or to increase your stamina, libido, and overall health, maybe it’s time to plant your own herb garden and see what herbs can do for you.

Edible flowers make ordinary butter beautiful

Picture a red nasturtium or peppery-tasting marigold displayed around a mound of lemony-yellow butter. Or, imagine the beauty of a handful of sugared purple violets or red rose petals, sans the sour petal base, crowning an iced picnic cake.

During bygone eras when the Romans ruled the world or Queen Victoria reigned during the age named for her, flowers weren’t just for bouquets on the table, they formed an integral part of the food that was consumed.

Many flowers and seeds are poisonous, so it is imperative that you correctly identify any flower or plant you plan to eat or use on food. Also, make sure you are not allergic to the plant before integrating its blooms into your diet.

What flowers are growing in your garden that you could use in your culinary endeavors?

Several edible florals include the blossoms of herbs such as lavender, dill, garlic chive, coriander, basil, bee balm, marjoram, oregano, anise hyssop, winter savory, summer savory, sage, and mint. Also edible are the flowers of certain varieties of pumpkins, squash, cauliflower, scarlet runner bean, radish, sweet garden pea, and fennel.

Consider also the delicate blooms of society garlic, dianthus, pansy, signet marigold, red clover, African marigold, plum, scented geranium (rose, lemon). You can candy the blossoms of apple and crabapple, but the seeds are poisonous.

Lemon and orange tree blossoms are fragrant, lovely, and tasty

Some blooms, such as hibiscus (China rose), mint, rose, and chamomile are used to flavor teas. Lemon blossoms will have a slightly bitter taste whereas orange blossoms are sweet but both are lovely floating in crystal bowls of punch.

Research your chosen plant and correctly identify it before using it in any food preparation. See, http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/rg302.pdf

Also see, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07237.html