Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on September 8 2014, by Matt Newman
The cardinal rule of visiting the Native Plant Garden dictates that you’re not allowed to miss summer’s cardinal flowers.
Cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) in the Native Plant Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on August 2 2013, by Matt Newman
Just in case you were skeptical about the cardinal flower‘s “hummingbird delicacy” status.
Lobelia cardinalis and guest — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 28 2013, by Matt Newman
Consider this a fete for hummingbirds. The cardinal flowers are a delicacy to our frazzle-winged friends, and if you’re in the Native Plant Garden while they’re in bloom (i.e. now), you might see a few blurry busybodies zipping to and fro.
Lobelia cardinalis — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on August 22 2012, by Matt Newman
Not all home gardens are focused on the artful arrangement of their perennial plantings, or the ways in which the borders complement the patio furniture. Instead, it’s sometimes best to let form follow function. And I’m not just talking about the Gordian knot of cucumber vines in your vegetable garden! Of all the green conceits you can put to work in your yard, one of the most casual and native gardens you can grow is the one that will draw the greatest attention from your neighbors–though admittedly neighbors of a feathered variety.
Attracting hummingbirds to your plot is more than a game of luck; now and then you need to be proactive. And when it comes to inviting wildlife to your garden, it can’t hurt to start with a proven lure.
There’s a fireworks show taking place in the NYBG‘s Azalea Garden this month, thanks to a single native plant known as Lobelia cardinalis, or the “cardinal flower.” This colorful perennial is native and common throughout much of North America, springing up in wetlands from Texas east to Florida, and north to New Brunswick in Canada. So if you live on the east coast, you’ve already checked off one important box on the list of the lobelia’s growing requirements. Easy, right? In the northeast in particular, having a collection of lobelias in your burgeoning hummingbird garden is a sure step to attracting the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)–the only North American hummingbird to nest east of the Mississippi.