Attracting Hummingbirds To Your Garden

There are many other striking flowers having similar tubular blossoms that hummingbirds find very alluring. Some of these include an outstanding array of tall, stately flowers that can easily be planted as a colorful yet carefree border. Hummingbirds will adore your border flowers because their tall stalks loaded with blossoms will offer them plenty of room to whir around while sipping sweet nectar.

Tall flowering borders can be effectively planted in many garden areas. Borders add much beauty to your landscape, while also providing nectar for hummers and butterflies.

Quite often, colorful borders are located as a backdrop to fences or garden walls constructed of stone, wood, or perhaps brick. Maybe you already have a living hedge of hardy boxwood or a tall hedge of evergreen arborvitae situated between your yard and that of your neighbor. A dazzling array of border flowers in front of living hedges lends a very striking, colorful look to any yard. Flowering borders are also showy when planted on either side of a driveway, or perhaps flanking both sides of a flagstone pathway leading to a quiet stream. Let your imagination take over as you analyze your yard to see just where a brilliant border would fit the best. Remember--we are choosing border plants to accommodate hummingbirds. And, where there are hummers, you will without a doubt also have "flying flowers" coming for their daily nectar meal, thus bringing you a two-fold reward for your gardening efforts.

Let's begin by selecting striking Delphinium elatum 'Magic Fountains' to plant as some of the tallest flowers in the back of your border. Delphiniums have long been favorites of gardeners for borders, and are usually associated with the color blue. However, this elegant border plant also blooms in many other colors that include white, purple, lavender, yellow, and red. Since our goal is to have a border of brilliant flowers with colors that blend and also attract hummingbirds, color choice is important. This doesn't mean that your entire border must be planted with flowers having red blossoms. Although hummers have been attracted to blue blossoms, having a mix of colors that includes red is desirable--almost necessary. Therefore, you should include some red and possibly white delphiniums to make a showy contrast with the bright blue ones.

Keep in mind that it's the nectar that hummingbirds really need. But having color choices that blend well is also important for a great looking border. Delphiniums give you some lovely color blending choices.

Another outstanding border flower is commonly called Foxglove (Digitalis (X. mertonensis). These elegant flowers have cup-shaped blossoms on all of their spikes and grow 4-5 feet in height. Their colors range from soft white to shades of pale or deep pinks, all with speckled throats. Foxgloves are some of the easiest of tall flowering plants to grow as border plants. Again, they are a favorite of hummingbirds because of their tube-shaped blossoms with rich nectar. Plant foxgloves about 1 foot apart, or mass them at the back of your border against a fence or bare wall, interspersing them with your delphiniums. Their colors will blend beautifully with our other selected flowers as they come into full bloom. Both foxgloves and delphiniums make excellent cutting flowers for fresh arrangements in your home. Foxgloves are either a perennial or a biennial, and therefore may need to be replanted as the need arises.

Next comes one of my favorites of the old-fashioned tall flowers--the Hollyhock. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) have very nectar-rich blossoms and often grow to 7-8 feet tall, depending on the variety. As a border plant they are excellent and easy to grow. Some varieties have single petals, while others have showy semi-double or double petals. This very old-fashioned flower has been around forever, it seems.

Another choice for a tall border flower, and one often overlooked as a hummingbird attractant, is Cleome hassleriana, also called a "Spider Flower." Cleome blooms with many open, fluffy clusters having pink or white blossoms with protruding stamens. Since Cleome blooms in late summer to fall, it will provide nectar for hummers after many other flowers have finished blooming. This tall unique plant serves very well interspersed in borders, or it can be planted in masses against a drab wall or a garden fence. A great side benefit of this delightful flower is that both the flowers and the seed capsules can be used effectively in dried flower arrangements. Cleome is an annual that grows 4-6 feet tall and thrives in all zones.

Next, let's introduce a fantastic plant that will grow profusely when planted in front of any of the tall flowers selected. This luxuriant plant is Common Bleeding Heart (Dicentra -- D. spectabilis). Wonderful fern-like foliage that is dense and dark green makes Bleeding Hearts perfect for filling out the second level of your border. This variety is the showiest of all, having graceful, heart-shaped clusters of dark rose-pink, pendulous blossoms an inch or more in length. Although not noted as a significant attractant to hummingbirds--since its blossoms are neither tubular nor nectar rich--this dark pink variety will likely still attract hummers to your garden.

Another great plant having tiny pink blossoms that add a graceful, delicate feeling to borders is Gypsophila (muralis 'Gypsy'), also known as Baby's Breath. It likes full sun, and grows 10 to 14 inches high. Tucking a few of these dainty, easy-to-grow plants close to the Bleeding Hearts, then sprinkling others between some of the taller border flowers will make your border look like a wonderful fresh bouquet. This popular plant is also used in many fresh or dried arrangements by florists and gardeners everywhere.

Choosing plants for the lowest, or front area, of any border offers gardeners an abundance of choices far too numerous to list here. Since our primary focus has been on tall borders having blossoms that attract hummingbirds, this final choice can be yours.

A few suggestions, however. You may wish to choose some showy, compact plants whose blossoms contain nectar that butterflies will frequent. These could include Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), a delicate, fragrant flower that butterflies adore, or compact Lobelia in colors of blue, lavender, white, or red. Your butterflies will love them! Candytuft, having tiny stark white blossoms that seem to bloom all summer on a cushion of lovely green foilage is another favorite. Also, don't overlook planting a bright array of cheerful, smiling pansies.

A delightful plant such as Artemisia, with its striking silvery gray, feathery foliage also makes for a great border plant. Or, you may wish to enclose your entire border with dwarf evergreen boxwoods--one of my all-time favorites. Perhaps a few of these options will strike your fancy. At any rate, have fun planning and planting your very own alluring hummer border!

An important warning! DO NOT use any poisonous chemicals or insecticides for weed or noxious pest control in your flower border. These substances will either sicken or kill hummers, and also butterflies and their caterpillars and larvae. If you should find any "unwanteds" in your flower garden, be sure to use substances that are safe for both hummers and butterflies..

Always remember, it's very important that your garden pleases you too. With a dazzling border including even a select few of the many striking flowers we've chosen, there's every reason to believe that both you and your "jewels of the sky" will truly enjoy it!