The Latest Dirt - May 2024
A Stubborn Watchman at the Low Water Garden
Article by Liz Rottger
Photos by Brian Kerss
This past winter, Brian Kerss and Liv Imset decided to prune a large elderberry tree at the Low Water Garden in Richmond. The tree had struggled through the entire summer with a heavy infestation of aphids and the pursuant black sooty mold. The tree needed to be cut back to promote new growth. Before Brian and Liv even started, they spotted a hummingbird perched on one of its tallest, bare branches. As soon as they began to saw off a few of the limbs from the tree, the hummingbird would fly away, but when they stopped sawing, the hummingbird would immediately fly back to its perch. It was clear to both Liv and Brian that this branch was very important to the little hummer, and even though it looked a bit peculiar, they decided to leave this tall branch on the tree.
All winter, when we worked at the Low Water Garden on Fridays, we would see the hummingbird sitting atop its tall, lonely branch, watching us. This was its garden, too. When a lovely firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis) at the base of the elderberry started to bloom this spring, the hummingbird had a handy ‘take-out’ diner, along with the many other hummingbird-friendly plants we had planted in the garden—columbines, salvias, penstemons and agastaches (hummingbird mint). We had made a garden for hummingbirds and were happy to share it with them.
