HUMMERS HAVEN

With hummingbird festivals this month honoring the 500 mile fall migration of the ruby-throated hummingbird from their nesting grounds in the north to their winter lodgings down in Mexico, what a perfect time to consider how to attract them to your garden along the way.

In order to attract these magical hovering friends that dart from flower to flower, remember they have an insatiable sweet tooth for nectar, prefer trumpet-shaped flowers especially in red, but blue & purple also, which bloom from April to September, but avoid the use of pesticides, because hummingbirds also eat insects for protein. Try planting a few of these hummer’s favorite herbs:

Bee balm
Cardinal Flower
Catnip
Foxglove
Hibiscus
Lamb's Ear
Lemon Mint
Mexican Sage
Milkweed
Nasturtiums
Pineapple Sage
Salvias
Soapwort
Wild Bergamot

In addition, offer nesting materials such as ferns, moss and lichens for their nests. Add places for perching, since hummers spend a lot of time resting. Plus, set up misters, so they can “bathe” by sitting on a branch and letting the mist fall upon them. Finally, if you put up feeders, never fill them with anything except a 1 to 4 sugar-water mixture - no food coloring, artificial sweeteners or honey, but do add some strips of red ribbon to blow in the wind and make it easier for the hummingbirds to see.

“And God said, See I have given you every herb
that yields seed which is on the face of the earth.”
Genesis 1:29