By September our thoughts and actions turn to autumn – fall sports, raking leaves, and cozy weekend campfires. For wildlife, especially pollinators late summer and early autumn are critical times to gather nourishment for migrations or hunkering down for winter’s scarcity.
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- Foraging
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- Feeding on nectar.
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- Insects find flowers.
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- Busy at work.
On our daily walks, often in the early morning to avoid late-season heat, we notice and appreciate late bloomers and nut abundance. Nectar is an important food supply for pollinators who busily forage among flowers. When the weather cools, pollinators are out later in the day as the sun warms the air. Remember, there is a “night shift” of pollinators, too, who need flowers to feed from.
Here are some late-blooming flowers we have seen on walks or that we nurture in our yard.
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- cultivated flowers work, too.
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- Roadside blooms are important.
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- Color contrast.
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- Some flowers prefer low lying areas to grow.
It’s been fun noting the hummingbirds flitting about the phlox and
many wildflowers that have sprung up in my flower beds. The
monarch came early to the wild sunflowers that the birds have
brought to my gardens. As soon as it sensed I was nearby, it left
quickly heading due south/southwest away from the looming
winds and rains from the tropical storm battering S and N Carolina.
I wished it safe travels.
Thanks for sharing the stories of what you see in your neck of the woods.