How to attract humming birds to your garden. Plants to grow and other ways to attract hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds visiting your garden can be beautiful and very entertaining to watch. While commercial hummingbird feeders are wonderful to start attracting hummingbirds to your garden, there are many other things that can be added to keep these tiny birds returning year after year.
While I live in a cold winter climate, we do have many hummingbirds during the late spring and summer months. I usually wait until I see my first bird before hanging out my commercial feeders. For the first few fillings I will color the sugar water that I make, red. This color will really attract the tiny birds. After they get used to the feeder location, I will stop adding the color. I only use cane sugar and mix it, 1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Just mix together and keep any leftovers in the refrigerator to prevent spoiling. You will also need to make sure that your commercial feeders clean, sugar water will have a tendency to spoil during the heat of the day. If it lasts that long. My mom sometimes has to fill her feeders both morning and night.
You can also purchase a nectar mix to fill your feeders, just follow the manufacturers instruction for mixing, feeding and storage.
Be sure to wash your feeders at least once a week, using very hot water. This will kill any bacteria that may form inside of the feeder, this bacteria will make your birds ill. If the birds are not drinking all of the sugar water, I would suggest emptying and refilling with fresh nectar every other day.
Be sure to remove your feeders if you live in a cold climate, just before the first frost. If you do not do this the hummers may not migrate as they should. Since the food supply is still available, they may stick around to eat, and not get out of the area in time for winter. The natural flowers and shrubs you will plant to attract the hummingbirds, will die off as the weather gets colder, allowing them plenty of migration time.
Hummingbirds love red or orange colored, trumpet shaped, single flowers. This floral shape makes it easy for them to insert their long beaks into the flower and gather natural nectars. Such flowers include Trumpet Vines (also known as a Hummingbird Vine), Petunias, Columbine, Morning Glories and Coral Bells.
They also love Salvia, Fuchsias, Snapdragons, Bee Balm, Nasturtiums and Hollyhocks. These can be planted just about anywhere including window boxes, which will make your bird watching easy from inside of your home.
Also, hummers need water. A small pond or container pond will entice them to visit your garden. They particularly like a water mist, many people have had hummers dive through their hoses as they are watering their gardens. If you do have a pond type container in your garden, you may want to add a fountain effect by purchasing a pump and inserting it below the water's surface. The hummingbirds will be attracted by the movement of the water.
Be sure not to use chemicals on your garden if you have hummers. Since they will be ingesting the nectar from the natural plants, they will also ingest the toxins. A small amount of chemicals can kill a bird this tiny.
Also when working in your garden, wear bright colored clothing, or place a red flower in the brim of your gardening hat. See how close these little birds will come to you? They do not seem to be afraid of anything. My mom has actually had several hummers land on her while she was filling her feeders.
Hummers love to build their nests in thorny and twiggy type bushes and trees. Pine trees especially will shelter the delicate nests made from lichen and cobwebs. While you may never see one of these tiny nests, you can generally tell in which area they may be nesting by watching where the hummers go after they eat. I have only ever heard of several people actually finding a nest and getting to watch the eggs hatch and the baby hummers learn to fly. If you have had this experience you are very fortunate indeed.
If you do some of the things that I have mentioned here, in no time at all you should have an interesting time watching the antics of the hummingbirds that will come to visit your garden.
