Creating a Hummingbird Haven

The most fascinating birds of nature are hummingbirds, their metallic feathers flashing between flowers. These little birds seduce gardeners, and bringing them to a garden is one of the great thrills of plant enthusiasts. How to Make Your Garden Attractive to Hummingbirds By Choosing Native Plants that Are Desirable and Complicated for Your Local Area.

Supply Your Hummingbirds With Feeders

Hummingbirds are nectar-feeders, and what they eat is mostly the syrupy liquid they consume from flowers. If hummingbird feeders are the quick fix, a garden with native plants is far more long-term and environmentally good for the birds and for the environment. They grow in the conditions of your region and are less water-dependent and chemically dependent than others. What's more, they have evolved with the local wildlife - hummingbirds and so on - and become free-ranging food for pollinators and other insect pests.

When you want to turn your garden into a hummingbird sanctuary, picture your garden as a landscape where plants bloom throughout the season in series. The best variety of plants is native, and the hummingbird can find food all season long, from early spring through late fall. These birds like tube-shaped flowers that are red, orange, and pink. Their curiosity is piqued by these colors, but the sweetness of the nectar is what really makes it.

Perhaps one of the first natives to look into your hummingbird garden is coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). This twig-like vine will be prolific in the spring and can continue to bloom from time to time throughout the summer. Its distinctive red or orange tubular flowers are a hummingbird's dream. Coral honeysuckle is not an invasive cousin of honeysuckle but a nice native plant that won't overgrow your backyard. It will climb trees or arbors for vertical interest and an ongoing source of nectar.

Hummingbirds Love Cardinal flower

Another native beauty whose beauty hummingbirds simply cannot ignore is the Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). It grows into tall panicles of reddish-purple flowers, which are prized by hummingbirds in late summer when there's less food to go around. Cardinal flowers like wet soil, so they are ideal for rain gardens or near a pond or stream. Their color and form will catch the eye in any garden, but it's their function in the care of hummingbirds that makes them so special.

If you live in a place that is drier, you can plant red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). One of the first spring bloomers, this sprinkling-heading flower delivers a nectar resource just as hummingbirds begin to head north. The red columbine's shape in the flowers accommodates a hummingbird's long beak and tongue, so it gets the nectar very easily. Red and yellow flowers make wild adornment of woods and hillier landscapes.

For gardeners in the western United States, penstemon (Penstemon spp.) is a hummingbird must-have. The penstemon's tubular flowers range in color from deep red to violet, and hummingbirds favor them in desert areas. Such species as the firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) flower in early summer and grow well in hot, dry conditions, so even in extreme weather, they are a reliable source of food.

If you're looking for a plant that grazes hummingbirds and makes the garden dance, then bee balm (Monarda didyma) is perfect. This durable annual blooms in red, pink, or lavender mid-to late summer. Its chubby, daisy flowers are awash in nectar and hummingbirds and bees, and therefore, a good candidate for pollinator gardens. Bee balm is even deer and rabbit-resistant, so no other animals are going to find their way to your hummingbird feast.

Hummingbirds Will Eat Up Trumpet Vine

A trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is another indigenous species. It's a ferocious climber that hummingbirds love with its large, trumpet-shaped flowers in reds and oranges. Be sure to allow trumpet vine space, as it will expand and encroach on a room if not managed well. Sow it next to a strong fence or pergola and make it a hummingbird magnet.

Salvia (Salvia spp.) is a genus with several species that can be used anywhere, and the red variety is very favorite with hummingbirds. Salvia greggii, or autumn sage, native to the US, flowers all year long, almost unendingly. Its hummingbird-friendly small tubular flowers and drought-tolerant habit.

Hummingbirds Loves Shrubs

A garden with hummingbirds is not only about the flowers. Consider the entire habitat. Hummingbirds need perches to lie down and squawk between feedings. Small leafless boughs of trees and shrubs make great sitting spots for hummingbirds to rest and look around. Plant native shrubs such as buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) or eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) as perches and other foods during flowering.

Hydration is another must-have for the hummingbird garden. The little birds are also fond of swimming and love to flit in the fog or into shallow waters. If you have a misting system or a small, bubbling fountain that will make you sound good, hummingbirds will flock to it to cool down. You don't want deep birdbaths; hummingbirds will prefer shallow water in which they can safely drink or bathe.

The other aspect that is often neglected when setting up a hummingbird paradise is insect life. Hummingbirds mainly eat nectar, but they also get protein from tiny insects and spiders, particularly in the breeding season. The native plants also promote a healthy insect population and so offer hummingbirds another food source that isn't found in gardens filled with non-native ornamentals or spray-treated with pesticides. With a healthy, insect-free habitat, you make it so that your hummingbird visitors can get nectar and the protein-rich insects they require.

Planning a hummingbird garden is patience for a reward. Begin by researching the native species in your area, especially those with high nectar and season-spanning bloom. Plant many species and you'll create a garden that will attract hummingbirds and the ecosystem at large.

Hummingbirds are habitual animals, and if they find a food source that they can trust, year after year, they'll do it again and again. You invest in native plants, and you get a living, self-sustaining ecosystem that will bring you pleasure for many years to come. The thrill of a hummingbird racing through the yard, its wings motionless, fluttering just ahead of a flower, is a moment no gardener should miss. And with the right mix of native plants, your garden will always be a stop along their migration route, year in and year out.