Menu for a Hummingbird Garden

There are few sights outdoors more delightful than the charmed beauty of hummingbirds. They seem to appear as if by magic, hovering with nearly invisible wings, silently darting from flower to flower. These visitors adorned in iridescent green and scarlet can easily be coaxed into almost any garden with just a handful of the appropriate nectar-rich flowers.

To attract the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the only species found in our region, you need only remember that hummingbirds or “hummers” have an insatiable sweet tooth. If a flower has an abundance of nectar, it is sure to be sampled by any birds passing through the area.

However, these winged gourmets do have a preference for showy trumpet-shaped flowers. You can easily understand why as you watch the hummer dip its narrow bill deep into the tubular recesses of the flower, its long tongue busily lapping up nectar, while the top of its head helps collect and distribute pollen from one flower to another. Another significant feature of these so-called hummingbird plants is flower positioning, where sufficient space is provided between each flower on a vine or stalk to accommodate the bird’s whirring wings.

Interestingly, ornithologists believe that there are approximately 150 plants native to North America which have co-evolved with hummingbirds to create this perfect marriage of bird shape and flower structure. Finding just the right native -- or exotic -- plant for your garden and the hummingbird’s refined palette could not be easier.

In addition to flower shape, hummingbirds display a strong preference for the color red. Unlike insects which often rely on scent to attract them, birds depend more on vision and prominent visual clues. For hummers, the most delectable plants are usually bright red, although more and more ardent hummingbird watchers are noting that blue and purple flowers are also quite popular.

Gardeners can realize some interesting benefits from the differences between hummingbird plants and other species. For example, gardeners can design their garden to emphasize a red and purple scheme, and can also create a very dramatic effect with some of the boldly colored plants favored by hummers. Moreover, red plants seldom attract bees, and most hummingbird plants are also unscented or have very little scent, which means that these select plants will not attract bees or lead to potential bee stings, which is an issue for people with allergies.

When planning a hummingbird garden, note that our ruby-throated guests are migratory, spending winter months in Central America, Mexico, and the Gulf states, and they typically arrive in mid-April and depart by mid- to late-September or early October, depending on nighttime temperatures. Consequently, you will want to select plants with overlapping bloom periods, and not simply provide a quick display of color in June.

Also, while you can scatter the appropriate plants here and there across your existing landscape, you might realize a better result if you combine a number of hummingbird plants in one area, preferably in an open location. Naturally, your garden must be maintained without pesticides, both to protect these delicate migratory jewels and the rest of your local ecosystem.

Preparing your menu of plants is delightfully easy. Up and down the East Coast, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are famous for their partiality to bee balm, cardinal flower, and two easily-grown native vines, trumpet creeper and coral honeysuckle, both of which will need a trellis or fence for support.

Also, no genus of plants has a closer relationship with hummingbirds than the salvias, most of which are native to Central America. The common red salvia is the annual plant overused in many public landscapes, although it is a good source of nectar and is easily started indoors from seed. However, there are a number of other species of interest, commonly referred to as sages, which combine ornamental and culinary attributes. Among the most recommended red specimens are Texas sage (Salvia coccinea) and the edible lipstick-red flowers and fruit-scented leaves of pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).

For a cooler look, consider anise sage which is one of the best hummingbird magnets. It is also called giant blue or Costa Rican sage (Salvia uaranitica) and features dazzling, cobalt blue tubular flowers delicately jutting out from a ten to twelve inch spike from early summer through late autumn. Unfortunately, while botanically a perennial, anise sage cannot tolerate our winter conditions, which is true of many of the other sages ideal for hummingbirds, including the blue and purple flowered Mexican bush sage.

In some cases, dedicated gardeners might want to take some of these semi-tropical species indoors to overwinter, bringing them outdoors again in mid-Spring as the hummers return. Other outstanding hummingbird plants in need of overwintering are lantana and scarlet bouvardia (Bouvardia ternifolia).

Butterfly bush, in all of its dark purple and pink forms, also attracts hummingbirds as readily as butterflies, although Buddleia species are becoming somewhat invasive when planted in and around natural areas. In fact, as hummingbirds and butterflies employ similar feeding habits, you can be assured that your hummingbird garden will also handily double as a butterfly garden, thereby providing even more delightful color throughout the warmer months.

Rounding out the list of the most popular plants are small trees like scarlet buckeye, and shrubs like native rhododendron and the common rose of sharon, with blossoms available in pink, red, and purple. Other selections include red columbine, common milkweed, foxglove, false indigo, Mexican cigar plant, and shrimp plant.

Like any landscape plan undertaken to attract and nurture wildlife, a hummingbird garden repays the gardener with beautiful flashes of winged color, amusing antics, and the quiet peace that comes from nourishing and appreciating the natural world.

About hummingbird feeders:

Relying on plastic feeders to attract hummingbirds instead of plants has some distinct disadvantages. Feeders are much more likely to attract ants and yellow jackets, among other pests. Also, to protect the health of the birds, you must change the sugar solution every several days, carefully mixing or preparing the mix at the full recommended strength. Cutting corners and cheating the birds can actually be detrimental to their fragile well-being. Feeders should also be emptied and thoroughly cleaned periodically. Never place a feeder near a window. Your view might be better, but the birds can easily injure themselves against the glass. One recommendation might be to use a feeder only as a supplement in late summer, if some of your hummingbird plants are no longer in bloom, although it is always best to select a variety of suitable plants to feed and attract hummers year-round.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser