How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden: 10 Best Flowers to Plant
Is there anything more enjoyable than watching hummingbirds flit around? A flower bed is a lovely way to utilize garden space while also attracting pollinators like bumblebees and butterflies. The active hummingbird is one of the most beautiful pollinators you might be lucky enough to attract. These energetic and vividly colorful birds like a wide range of flowers, from long-lasting kinds to spring flowering beauties. Hummingbirds help with floral reproduction, hence many flowers have evolved specific traits to attract them. You only need to grow what hummingbirds like to make your yard a hummingbird sanctuary! Continue reading if you want to learn how to attract hummingbirds to your garden:
Let’s see how you can attract these beautiful hummingbirds to your garden
Best flowers to attract hummingbirds
It’s easy to attract these magical birds to your garden with a few well-chosen flowers. To keep their metabolisms running fast, hummingbirds need to eat approximately every 10 minutes to use all the help they can get! They rely on bright colors (especially red) to spot the best blooms, and they especially like tubular-shaped flowers that contain larger amounts of nectar. Here are 10 flowers that attract hummingbirds that can easily add to your home garden. Also, make sure to check these aromatic flowers if you want to attract beautiful butterflies to your garden!
These little birds rely on flowers to feed with their sweet nectar
Tip: Sometimes you mind find yourself looking to get rid of some bugs in your garden space. Our guide for getting rid of stinky bugs will show you different ways to combat the problem.
Hummingbirds are little, cute pollinators who will make your garden a dreamy oasis
Lantana Flower
Hummingbirds love lantanas, and their clusters of blossoms make them a fantastic choice for any gardener, but they’re especially good for beginners. If you are a beginner in the garden, make sure to check our beginner gardening guide! Once grown, the Lantana flower requires full sun and well-drained soil and does not require heavy or frequent watering. Its blossoms, which are made up of many tiny flowers, attract nectar-drinking animals. It can grow up to 6 feet tall when fully grown.
Lantana flowers are not only good for hummingbirds, but for beginner gardeners as well!
These beautiful, ombre flowers are a hummingbird favorite
Hibiscus
As a tropical beauty, the hibiscus is a favorite of hummingbirds, in part because of its fantastic color. The vibrant flowers attract hummingbirds, so hibiscus is a good choice for a beautiful hummingbird garden. It requires regular watering to keep the soil balanced but not moist. Water your hibiscus daily when temperatures are warm, and bring it inside when temperatures drop below 50 degrees.
This tropical beauty will be the perfect addition to your garden
Hibiscus is one of the most beautiful tropical flowers
Morning Glory
Morning glory’s tubular shape and bright variety of colors make it excellent for a hummingbird garden. This is a climbing vine that requires a lot of space and direct morning sun. To generate flowers, morning glory requires balanced fertilizing. If you want to know how you can make your own organic plant fertilizer at home, then check out our guide! Morning glories self-seed in many places and come back even stronger in the spring, so be prepared for a bumper crop the following year.
Morning glory comes in a variety of beautiful colors like pink, purple, and blue
Petunia
Petunias prefer moderate shade to full sun, while the latter is preferred for better blooming and attracting hummingbirds. Petunias will provide color throughout the summer, and they require compost-treated soil to thrive. Petunias will bloom continually if you deadhead them and keep them away from excessive heat. Petunias are annuals that grow quickly and give a lot of food for your local hummingbirds.
These colorful petunias will last all summer long
Salvia Flower
Salvia attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies. If you want a beautiful pollinated garden, make sure to plant some flowers that attract honey bees, as well! There are annual and perennial varieties, and the colors vary greatly, while the brilliant hues of the pink and red varieties may attract more hummingbirds. After the last frost date, plant it outside in full to partial sunlight. Salvia enjoys dry soil, so water it only when necessary.
Salvia is a type of sage that is like a magnet to hummingbirds
You can also look after this cool flower in a pot
Columbine Flower
During the blooming season, this lovely perennial flower will provide interest to your garden and attract nectar-eating birds and bugs. Hummingbirds love it because of the range of hues, which include pinks, purples, reds, and blues. It also looks good in any style of garden. Columbine will grow almost anyplace as long as the soil is not too dry and sunny. Mulch them in really hot locations to keep the roots cold and assist the cool-weather plant survive the summer.
Columbine flowers have a unique shape and beautiful colors
Foxglove
The many blossoms on a long, cheap stem make foxglove an ideal plant for hummingbirds. It can be planted as a perennial or biennial, which means that it grows one year and blooms the next. Foxglove prefers damp soil and blooms in the spring. Before growing seeds or transplants, make sure your soil is rich in nutrients, and never eat any part of this toxic plant. Foxglove is beneficial to wildlife as well as adding a splash of color to your yard. They are a vital supply of pollen for the dwindling bee population, despite being harmful to pets if eaten. The vivid blossoms, which are shaped to provide a great landing location for bees, attract them with ease. Bees distribute pollen from one plant to the next while foraging, helping the thimble bees to reproduce.
Tip: If you have pets, make sure to see our guide for pet-friendly indoor plants. That way, you can ensure that your furry friends are safe.
Foxglove is an amazing flower for wildlife
These flowers are toxic to pets, but hummingbirds and bees adore them!
Bleeding Heart
Bleeding heart is a shade-loving perennial that blooms in the spring, just as hummingbirds begin to travel to their summer zones. Late summer is dormant, however some kinds can blossom in lower climates. Consider planting an annual like petunias once the plants have gone dormant for the summer to attract hummingbirds. Water your aching heart on a daily basis.
This unique flower will be a wonderful addition to your garden collection
Fuchsia
Fuchsia is the way to go if you want to add a tropical flavor to your patio or garden while also attracting more hummingbirds. This wonderful flower blooms all year, although in the hotter months, it will require some shade. Watering them will help plants cool down as well, but too much water will cause root rot. Make sure there are holes and sufficient drainage if you’re planting fuchsias in a pot. Bring your fuchsia indoors during the winter to relax and maintain it for the following growing season.
Fuchsia is a beautiful flower that will turn your garden into a tropical paradise
Hummingbirds love these bright-colored flowers
Hosta
Hostas are large, leafy perennials that attract hummingbirds with their spikes of lily-like flowers that bloom in summer. Some varieties are fragrant and others are not, but hummingbirds and bees love their nectar and will return while the flowers are in bloom. Try to get Hosta bulbs in the ground in late summer or early spring. If you want to know how to prep your garden for spring, then check out our spring gardening guide!
This flower attracts hummingbirds with its flowers that bloom in the summer
And, here is how this plant looks the rest of the year
Flowers that hummingbirds dislike
Knowing which flowers to avoid can help gardeners create stunning flowerbeds that will also serve as nutritious, bountiful buffets for visiting hummingbirds. Popular blooms that are not particularly attractive to hummingbirds include:
- Daffodils
- Dianthus
- Hellebores
- Gardenias
- Irises
- Lilac
- Lily of the valley
- Marigold
- Oriental Lilies
- Peonies
- Roses
- Sunflowers
- Sweet Peas
- Tulips
And, if you want quick results, you can always get a hummingbird feeder
And, here is a cute hummingbird chilling on an aloe vera plant
