Hummingbirds have an unusual capability to hover in one
place by quickly flapping their small wings which may genuinely have made them
the fairies that a lot of people saw hovering around brilliantly colored
flowers.
It’s not hard to make a garden that will lure hummingbirds, but if you’d like to
build a home in which they will gladly nest and live all the way through the
northern summer, you want to provide them with more than a sugar water feeder
and a plant or two. An active hummingbird garden doesn’t have to be huge, but it
will have all of the following major ingredients to draw in and keep the little
fairies.
Select plants that bear flowers many times through the spring,
summer and autumn.
Flowers are the major ingredient in getting hummingbirds to your garden. The
small birds feed on nectar that is made by flowers, and appear particularly
attracted to plants with trumpet or tubular bright red and orange flowers. Some
of their particular favorites are rose of sharon bushes, rhododendrons and
azaleas, so the red trumpet isn’t a hard and fast rule. For northern gardens
that beckon the ruby-throated hummingbird, select from the list of plants below,
be sure that you select plants that bloom at different times during the
flowering season to furnish food for them during spring, summer and fall.
Spring Bloomers
Azaleas, rhododendrons and rose of sharon bushes make a great setting for
hummingbird gardens. They flower early in the spring and keep on blooming
through the early summer. Pink and bright red varieties are preferred, but
hummingbirds love all rose of sharon types.
Summer Bloomers
Bleeding hearts and red mountain columbine flower in the early summer, also
salvias, petunias, trumpet honeysuckle, morning glories, trumpet vines and
impatiens, all of which catch hummingbirds. A wide scope of shade patterned
impatiens is an effective attraction for hummingbirds, who hunt by sight.
Autumn Bloomers
Butterfly bush, garden phlox, day lilies, bee-balm and impatiens all will keep
hummingbirds returning through the autumn and entice late migrators.
Have a source of water in the hummingbird garden.
Unlike bigger birds, hummingbirds will rarely take advantage of a bird bath or
bowl of water. Instead, they enjoy cool mists. A garden hose with a misting
fixture or a small fountain that can be adapted to a fine mist will keep them
coming back.
Vertical space for hummingbirds to perch and nest.
Hummingbirds require shelter from predators and tiny branches for perching and
resting. By selecting a couple taller bushes or trees, you can offer both.
A few feeders will provide a treat in your hummingbird garden.
There are scores of commercially designed hummingbird feeders built to be
attractive to the little roamers. Pick feeders with bright red accents to get
their attention, and a feeder that holds about 8 ounces of sugar water. Instead
of using one big feeder, place 2 to 4 of them around your yard, out of sight of
each other if possible. Hummingbirds are notoriously territorial. By offering
several private feeding stations, you will increase the amount of hummingbirds
that you attract.
They are another reason to go organic because they need not come in contact with
chemical pesticides or herbicides that many spray around their flowers and
vines. Help them survive.
By:
James
Ellison
Article
Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Jim's articles are from extensive research on each of his
topics. You can learn more of hummingbirds by visiting:
Hummingbirds
