By Jennifer E. Beaver
Until I began research for this column, hummingbird gardens didn’t do much for me. I understand that many enjoy watching these tiny bundles of energy and want to help wildlife, but I personally didn’t want to put in the effort to attract them.
And then I learned that hummingbirds eat twice their body weight in insects and nectar each day.
Whoa. These guys work for a living.
I like the idea that these hyper hummers devour gnats, spiders, mosquitoes, aphids, caterpillars, and insect eggs. Winged pest control is okay in my book.
Nectar, however, provides most of their diet. To fortify a zippy metabolism with wings that beat 60 to 80 times per second, each tiny bird feeds up to eight times per hour. According to Las Pilitas Nursery, my yard needs between 400 and 1,000 blossoms to support one hummingbird each day. And did I mention that they remember every flower and also like variety?
So attracting these guys and keeping them happy requires more than a single basket of petunias. Fortunately, many hummingbird-friendly plants are also drought-tolerant California natives.
Need inspiration? Visit the Escondido-based Las Pilitas Nursery, a California native garden specialist that hosts a hummingbird habitat. Drop by laspilitas.com for a list of plants that make hummers happy year-round. From January through March, try yellow bush snapdragon and monkeyflower. During June through August, consider penstemon, lobelia, salvia, and California lilies. Round out the year with California fuchsia.
Many nectar-rich hummingbird magnets are easy to integrate into your existing landscape. If you’ve been looking for a way to camouflage a fence or building, why not choose honeysuckle, bougainvillea or trumpet vine and attract hummingbirds at the same time? Trumpet vine blossoms pack a high volume of nectar and coral honeysuckle isn’t far behind. Just make sure to use sturdy supports–these are heavy, rambling plants that quickly swallow anything in their path.
Creating a hummingbird-friendly environment doesn’t need to be expensive. Renee’s Garden (reneesgarden.com) sells a three-packet set of nectar-rich seeds for less than seven dollars. It includes easy-to-grow “Magic Beanstalk” scarlet runner bean, “Summer Charm” mixed nasturtiums, and “Scarlet Flame” zinnia. Find Renee’s seeds locally at OSH.
And what about those hummingbird feeders? That sugar-water is no substitute for nutrient-packed nectar; it’s kind of like feeding a kid doughnuts and thinking you’ve provided a balanced breakfast. Grow hummingbird-friendly plants instead and boost the birds’ immune systems. Elsewhere in the garden, avoid pesticides.
Round out the hummingbird garden with a shallow bowl for bathing. Want to make them really happy? Set out a mister. It’s the hummingbird variation of running though a sprinkler.
Next column, we’ll take a look at creating a butterfly garden.
Jennifer E. Beaver is a master gardener and author of Container Gardening for California, available at Amazon, Borders and Barnes & Noble. Reach her at jennifer.e.beaver@gmail.com.
