Design Your Garden for Hummingbirds

Whether you already have a garden or are starting from scratch, there are plenty of things you can do to make it more appealing to hummingbirds.

DRAW THEM IN As these tiny birds zip through your neighborhood, big blocks of bright color are easiest to see from a distance. A hummingbird feeds on as many as 1,000 flowers a day (along with sap and insects) to get the nutrition it needs. So a large planting like the bee balm in photo 2 means there’s not far to go between nectar-loaded blooms. Groups of five plants or more will do the job. Plants that spread by seeds or rhizomes, such as columbine or bugleweed, are budget-minded choices—just a few plants can become many in a few years.

GROW FLOWERS A garden filled with flowers is your best bet for bringing in the birds. Single blooms are easier for hummers to feed from than doubles. Traditionally, gardeners have been told that tubular shaped blooms in shades of red, pink and orange were hummingbirds’ go-to flowers. However, studies have shown that hummingbirds don’t have an innate preference for red after all. In fact, a recent Chicago Botanic Garden study found that hummingbirds feed from a wide range of flowers, with no obvious preference for red or tubular ones. With the biggest brain in proportion to body weight of any bird species, it’s no surprise that when they discover a good food source, they keep coming back. So go ahead and grow red tubular blooms, but also grow other flower shapes for a more interesting-looking border.

KEEP THE BLOOMS COMING Even if you garden in a small space or only in containers, a wide range of bloom times and a mix of longblooming plants ensures hummingbirds have

plenty to eat. The combination of canna, petunia and mealycup sage in photo 4 makes a perfect patio pit stop for hummingbirds. Each of these plants has something to offer from late spring to frost. Occasional deadheading will keep the canna and sage producing fresh blooms.

Flowering trees and shrubs, such as Eastern redbud or weigela, have loads of flowers in one spot and are a great way to provide one-stop shopping in spring. Add bleeding heart and columbine and they’ll have it made. Summer borders filled with long-blooming salvia (annual or perennial), penstemon, bee balm or cape fuchsia will fill your garden with colorful hummingbird treats. Finish off the season with showoffs like cardinal flower, nasturtiums and gladiola. As the days start to shorten, hummingbirds in northern areas start migrating south—as early as late August to early September in the North.

Sources

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Delphinium Penstemon Bee balm Salvia 2 | Bird buffet A mixed perennial border with hummingbird favorites ensures that when one flower is winding down, there are plenty of other nectar sources available.

Rufous hummingbird ‘Jacob Cline’ bee balm 3 | Hummingbirds love bee balm. This big patch of ‘Jacob Cline’ lets several hummers eat at the same time, as they’re territorial and chase each other away if they get too close.

4 | Container snack Plant this long-blooming combination and you’ll see hummingbirds visiting from midspring when you plant until they migrate south again.