Hummingbird Season

Create a hummingbird haven

By Amy McDowell

Faeries must’ve come into garden lore in part, at least, because of tiny hummingbirds and their graceful acrobatic flight. Tinkerbell’s nimble flight patterns and ability to hover must have originated with hummingbirds. Perhaps there’s even some genetic link between hummingbirds and faeries.

Attract these charming flying jewels to your garden and you will forever be enchanted.

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

Mixing up a batch of fresh nectar is quick and simple. Stir one cup of sugar into four cups warm water. Boiling is not necessary, honestly.

Flying-saucer-shaped feeders are the best because they are the easiest to clean. The top and bottom discs snap together, and there isn’t a narrow bottleneck to scrub. Once every three to seven days, dump out the old nectar, wash the feeder with warm soapy water, and refill it with fresh nectar. The whole process takes no more than five minutes, and you’ll be rewarded for your effort with frequent visits from the tiny beauties.

Hang several feeders around your home. Male hummingbirds are territorial and will chase others away from a feeder. Although they feed throughout the day, I notice more activity in the evenings.

A blooming garden adds a buffet of natural flower nectar to the hummingbird diet. Here are lists of annuals, perennials and woody shrubs and vines that hummingbirds would love to find in your garden.

Annual hummingbird nectar plants

Four o’clock (Mirabilis), Dahlia, Gladioli, Fuschia, Impatiens, Nasturtium, Petunia, snapdragon, spider flower (Cleome), sweet William (Dianthus), Nicotiana, and Zinnias. Annual vines include morning glory (Ipomoea) and scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus).

Perennial hummingbird nectar plants

   

Monarda, bleeding heart (Dicentra), butterfly weed (Asclepias), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), ajuga, columbine (Aquilegia), coral bells (Heuchera), Delphinium, foxglove, Penstemon, garden phlox, red-hot poker (Kniphofia), salvia and hosta.

Shrubs and vines that attract hummingbirds

Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), honeysuckle (Lonicera), azaleas, beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus), lilac (Syringa), quince (Chaenomeles japonica), rose of sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) and Weigela.