Introduction
Attracting hummingbirds to your garden not only adds beauty to your outdoor living space, but also helps to pollinate your plants. However, not all flowers are created equal when it comes to attracting these tiny birds. This article provides a list of the top five flowers that hummingbirds love and explains how to create a hummingbird-friendly garden.
Top 5 Hummingbird-Attracting Flowers
If you want to attract hummingbirds, these are the top five flowers you should plant in your garden:
- Salvia (Salvia spp.): These vibrant red, purple, or blue flowers are tubular in shape, making them perfect for hummingbirds to feed from.
- Fuchsia (Fuchsia spp.): With their pendulous, brightly colored flowers, fuchsias are a magnet for hummingbirds.
- Columbine (Aquilegia spp.): Hummingbirds are attracted to columbines’ unique, long-spurred flowers that hang like bells.
- Bee Balm (Monarda spp.): The bright red, pink, or purple flowers of bee balm, also known as bergamot, are highly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies alike.
- Penstemon (Penstemon spp.): Another tubular-shaped flower, penstemons come in a wide range of colors and are a favorite of hummingbirds.
By planting a variety of these top hummingbird-attracting flowers, you’ll be sure to create a garden that is a hotspot for these winged wonders!
How Hummingbirds are Attracted to Certain Flowers
Hummingbirds have unique flower preferences. Understanding how they choose their flowers will help you create a garden that will attract them:
- Vision: Hummingbirds are highly attracted to bright colors, especially reds, pinks and oranges.
- Shape: Tubular-shaped flowers with nectar at the bottom are easy for hummingbirds to extract the nectar from.
- Size: Larger flowers are easier for hummingbirds to perch on.
- Timing: Flowers that bloom at the right time of year, such as those that are in bloom during the hummingbird migration, are more likely to attract them.
Flower shape and color is especially important for attracting hummingbirds. Using flowers such as the trumpet-shaped fuchsia or the tubular salvia in bright, vivid colors will make your garden irresistible to these little birds.
Personal Anecdotal Evidence
As an avid gardener, I’ve had great success in attracting hummingbirds to my garden. Between the months of May and September, my garden buzzes with activity from these tiny creatures. Here are some of the flowers that have worked especially well for me:
- Fuchsia: I’ve had great success in attracting hummingbirds to the fuchsia plants in my front yard. The long-hanging bell-shaped flowers are irresistible to them.
- Bee balm: I have several varieties of bee balm in my back garden, and they have proven to be a favorite of not just hummingbirds, but also butterflies and bees.
- Hibiscus: This is another flower that attracts hummingbirds well. The bright red and pink varieties are especially attractive to them.
Highlighting the Importance of Attracting Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds play an important role in pollinating plants, and by attracting them to your garden, you can help maintain a healthy ecosystem. In addition to providing beautiful pops of color in your garden, hummingbirds can pollinate up to 1,500 flowers per day!
The video below highlights some popular hummingbird-attracting flowers:
Characteristics of Flowers that Attract Hummingbirds
In order to better understand which flowers attract hummingbirds, it’s important to examine the characteristics of the flower itself. Here are some key characteristics that hummingbirds prefer:
- Shape: Tubular or trumpet-shaped flowers are the most attractive to hummingbirds.
- Color: Bright, vivid colors such as reds, pinks and oranges are the easiest for hummingbirds to see.
- Size: Larger flowers provide a better perch for hummingbirds.
- Scent: Hummingbirds have a poor sense of smell, so they prefer flowers that have a higher concentration of nectar and are easier to see.
Planting these hummingbird-preferred flowers in clusters will create a natural feeding area for them in your garden.
Conclusion
By planting any of the top five hummingbird-attracting flowers in your garden and providing the right conditions, you can attract these colorful, charming birds and add an element of wonder to your outdoor living space. Remember to provide ample food and water sources, and to plant a variety of flowers that bloom at different times in order to keep your garden attractive to hummingbirds year-round. With a little bit of effort, you can create a garden that is as beautiful as it is environmentally friendly.