Jenner Fenner Mo Minner, Be By Bo Biner, Fe Fi Fo Finner ~ Jenner :)

Please give a warm welcome to this week's guest, Jenners of Life with a Little One & More.

When Lisa asked for guest posters, I was so excited! I had visions of a fun family project that involved my Little One and my photographer husband. Unfortunately, we could not come to a meeting of the minds about what to do for the post -- leading to marital discord and general disinterest from the Little One. (I exaggerate about the discord -- but only a little). So I decided to go it alone.

Then I came up with and scratched so many different ideas before deciding to just go with the simplest one, which is to share a little with you about my perennial garden and the visitors it attracts.

Before I continue, I must tell you I am NOT a gardener. My gardening experience before this one was a little vegetable garden (but that was primarily my husband's project; I was just the designated waterer.) But when we moved into our house, there was a perfect little space for a garden right by the entryway, and I thought I would try my hand at planting a garden. Being a bit lazy and having a black thumb, I did a little research and realized a perennial garden might be perfect for me as you didn't need to recreate it every year. So I bought a book and found a garden layout that seemed ideal for what I had in mind. The primary colors are yellow, purple and white.

The other considerations were what would work well in my neck of the woods -- New Jersey. I wanted a garden that would look good for spring, summer and fall. The plants work very well together -- as soon as one is done blooming, another takes its place on center stage. And when nothing is blooming, the plants with interesting leaves and shapes have a moment to shine. It has really been a surprise to me how much I love my little garden and how much it has thrived. So here is the story of my perennial garden and the visitors who "flock" to it!

This is what the garden looks like in May and June.

Come July, things start blooming like crazy.
One thing about perennials, they come back stronger and bigger every year, and I am constantly having to keep them under control.

Butterflies love to visit the garden...


and the place is always buzzing with bees.


The goldfinch in his bright summer colors is one of my favorite visitors. Nice to see him "dressed up" after his drab winter feathers!


But by far, our most favorite visitors are the hummingbirds!
The photo is a little grainy because they are so hard to capture in flight.


The scouts show up each year around May, and I get the feeders ready for them.
By June, we have at least 7 hummingbirds visiting our house all day long, every day.


We get so many, I put a window feeder out back on our kitchen window.
The hummies just fly right up. I love this photo because of the shadow on the house.


They've really gotten used to us and will flit around out heads when we sit out on the deck.

I'm anxiously awaiting their return this year. We are graced with their presence from May through September, and it is one of the best parts of living in our house!

Thank you, Lisa, for this opportunity to be a part of your amazing blog. Your photos blow me away every day, and I was so thrilled to be a small part of what you are doing at Lisa's Chaos.