Discover the Stunning Variety of Hummingbirds That Could Grace Your Garden
Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
Hummingbirds are enchanting creatures that bring a touch of magic to any backyard. These tiny, vibrant birds are known for their ability to hover in mid-air and their love for nectar-rich flowers. Here's a guide to creating a hummingbird-friendly garden.
Broad-tailed hummingbirds, with their shimmering rose-red throats, thrive at elevations as high as 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. To attract these birds to your garden, consider planting alpine favourites such as larkspur, red columbine, and silene.
Allen's hummingbirds, celebrated for their orange neck patches and green backs, are native to the coastal strip of California and southern Oregon. To invite these birds to your yard, plant fuchsia, monkey flower, and scarlet runner bean.
Males of the Calliope hummingbird species sport dazzling magenta streaks on their throats. These smallest hummingbirds found in North America, measuring just 3 inches in length, feed on native plants like scarlet gilia, honeysuckle, and orange trumpet flowers.
Hummingbirds can adapt to most climates as long as they have access to nectar-rich flowers and clean water sources. Creating a garden that's welcoming to hummingbirds not only brightens your yard but also supports these incredible pollinators.
Tubular flowers in bright shades of red, orange, or pink are the best for attracting hummingbirds. Some key flowers known to attract hummingbirds across various climates include bee balm (Monarda), trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) and coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), salvia (Sage), columbine (Aquilegia) and daylilies (Hemerocallis), red hot poker (Kniphofia), anise hyssop, and other annuals such as cleomes, impatiens, petunias, and biennials like foxgloves and hollyhocks.
In cooler or shaded woodland areas, flowers like monkshood (Aconitum) with blue or purple blooms have been noted to attract hummingbirds.
Selecting flowers based on climate zones, bloom times, and flower shape (favoring tubular shapes) will best attract local hummingbird species. Tubular-shaped flowers limit access to nectar by other insects, making them particularly suitable for hummingbirds.
To supplement natural nectar from flowers, hummingbird feeders filled with a simple sugar-water solution can be a great addition. Adding a water feature like a small fountain can also attract hummingbirds.
Attracting bugs that hummingbirds like is important, since nectar isn't sufficient for most birds' diets. Avoid using pesticides, as these can harm hummingbirds.
By following these tips, you can create a hummingbird haven in your garden, providing a vibrant and lively space for these fascinating creatures to visit.
- To create a more inviting hummingbird garden, consider incorporating decorative elements such as hummingbird feeders and small water features.
- For home-and-garden enthusiasts who love gardening, planting a hummingbird-friendly garden can be an enjoyable and picturesque lifestyle choice.
- In colder or shaded areas, Opt for flowers like monkshood with blue or purple blooms to attract hummingbirds.
- By selecting flowers that offer nectar-rich tubular blooms, gardeners can attract a variety of pollinators, including hummingbirds, and support their local ecosystem.
