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more bird-plants for sale at NC Botanical Garden



Howdy folks,

The stock's changed a bit since Ginger Travis visited, but the NCBG in
Chapel Hill still has lots of worthwhile plants for sale behind the Totten
Center. For hummer fans, they have Scarlet Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus),
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia
canadensis), among others. And to supply berries, they have two different
species of Viburnum (Mapleleaf, V. acerifolium; and Possumhaw, V. nudum)
and American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). If you're bargain-
hunting, they have both Great Blue Lobelia (L. siphilitica) and hummer-
friendly Scarlet Bee-Balm (Monarda didyma) at $2 per plant. And, if you
have a wet sunny open spot and want something cool regardless of bird
attraction or price, they have several varieties of pitcher plants and a
few Venus' Flytraps.

They don't have Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) for sale, but clumps of it
are blooming in several beds around the grounds; no hummers today, but
bears checking later in the season... Saw my first Yellow-rumped Warblers
of the year there today; have been hearing them for a week or so, but this
was my first visual confirmation. Lots of White-throated Sparrows too.

Back home in Old North Durham, while grading a stack of exams in the
hammock, a Red-shouldered Hawk streaked overhead; moving faster than I've
ever seen a buteo go, must have had a good tailwind. And speaking of
Pineapple Sage, while the patch we planted out front has very few flowers
as yet, a volunteer has popped up and is happily flowering in our unmowed
back lawn! No idea where that came from, we sure didn't plant it!

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/