The Best Flowers For A Hummingbird Garden

May 26, 2020

By Sandra Nelson

While a great design is the first step to a hummin’ garden (See last week’s post for design tips), the plants that you chose can actually make it or break it. Hummingbirds, like many bees and butterflies, have some fairly specific preferences when it comes to their food sources. Keeping these characteristics in mind when selecting plants will help make your garden the neighborhood’s favorite hummingbird hangout.

Choose bright-colored blooms

You don’t have to limit yourself to reds and pinks. Hummingbirds have exceptional eyesight and see colors as well as, if not better than, humans. They are attracted to all bright colors. That means that you can include oranges, deep purples and bright blues. It’s advisable to limit the number of soft colors — whites, silvers and soft yellows — but you don’t need to eliminate them from your color palette.

Consider the bloom shape

Because of the long, narrow beaks and tongues, flowers that have tubular or trumpet shapes are perfect choices for hummingbird gardens. Elongated bloom shapes make it easy for hummers to draw the nectar out, while rounded, bowl and saucer- shaped blooms are difficult for the birds to extract enough nectar to satisfy their hunger.

Use hybrids cautiously

Hybrids are often bred for larger bloom or plant sizes, more intense colors or improved disease and insect resistances. Unfortunately, the improvements often result in blooms that have much less nectar than the original ones. Many experts suggest including some naturally nectar-rich native plants in hummingbird gardens for hardy, easy to grow options.

If you’re ready to add some hummingbird favorites to your garden,we’ve gathered a list of a few of our favorites. Plant some now and enjoy some entertaining visitors this summer!