The amazing Cardinal Climber vine will attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your yard. In this picture, you can see the pollen on the lovely bright red flower.
Photography by Curtis Beaird
Story and Poem by Norma Beaird
We planted the Cardinal Climber seeds in mid May. It takes approximately 90+ days for the flower to bloom. It does take a while, but it's well worth it. We actually over-planted the seeds so that we would have an explosion of red blooms. We also planted late because we were attempting to time it just right for Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration. During this time of year, birds are flying south to their winter location.
A Cloudless Sulphur butterflylands on the Cardinal Climber.
Butterflies love the Cardinal Climber!
We see these little yellow treasures flying all over the yard and all over the Cardinal Climber.
Every day, we walk outside to see more blooms!
Cardinal Climbers are native to North America, Asia, South Africa and the West Indies. They are members of the Morning Glory family. The South is the perfect place for planting Cardinal Climbers. Cardinal Climber plants need full sun to reach their full potential. They prefer rich, well drained soils, and they need to be watered frequently during dry periods.
And, the moment finally arrived.
There she was....
a beautiful and young Ruby-throated Hummingbird female. She is friendly and excited to see the abundance of Cardinal Climber blooms. She has been a regular visitor for several days!
We love to have fun and experiment with our photography. In this picture, we had sprayed the Cardinal Climbers with a fine mist of water. We were very careful to use a fine mist. This created little water droplets that add a unique dimension to the picture.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds,
migration fills the skies,
with yellow Cloudless Sulphurs,
and the many butterflies.
They fly south for the winter,
'cause the chill is coming soon,
We hope they stop and visit us,
They know that we have room.
For in the yard, we're ready,
with the Cardinal Climber vine,
our flying friends are welcome,
to come visit us sometime.
Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird. All rights reserved.
