Garden Delights

The bloom of spring flowers is a source of delight for gardeners and non-gardeners alike, particularly after the chill of a long winter. Gardens provide joy, sustenance, and a sense of purpose to those who tend them, but they also give birds, plants, and animals a refuge and the resources they need to survive. With the release of the Garden Delights stamps, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the flora and fauna of America’s spring and summer gardens.

This booklet of 20 stamps features four images, each of a single, female ruby-throated hummingbird, hovering next to either a zinnia, cigar flower, spotted touch-me-not, or sunflower.

No garden would be complete without the buzzes, hums, and musical melodies of nature’s visiting wildlife. Hummingbirds in particular have long been a source of joy in summer gardens for their enchanting countenances and diminutive size. Unique among birds, these tiny, aerodynamic marvels are remarkable pollinators as well. More than 7,000 flowering plants rely on these important avian pollinators to collect and deliver the pollen they need to produce fruit and seeds.

Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps using existing photographs by wildlife photographer Ben King.