Attracting Hummingbirds & Butterflies to Your Garden (Page 2)

Recommended perennials include Aster, Bee Balm, Day Lily, Foxglove, Globe Thistle, Hollyhock, Lupine, Milkweed, and Phlox.

Annuals include Cleome, Fuchsia, Impatiens, Petunia, Salvia, Snapdragon, and Zinnia.

Vines to attract hummingbirds include Honeysuckle, Morning Glory, and Scarlet Runner Bean.

Recommended shrubs are Butterfly Bush and Weigela.

If you place hummingbird feeders out, be sure to clean the feeder out at least once a month with a solution of ¼ C. bleach or white vinegar to one gallon of water. Avoid using soap as the birds do not like the taste. In Annie’s literature they also recommend a running water feature to your garden to attract hummingbirds as this creates a comfortable habitat for them.

Attracting butterflies to your garden

Gerchman said to attract butterflies, to incorporate shallow pools in your gardens so they have water to drink. “Some people take the tops of bird baths and sink them into the garden,” she said. (Be careful that these pools do not become mosquito habitats.) Gerchman said that butterflies like bright, sunny areas. “Butterflies need to maintain their body temperatures between 85 and 100 degrees. That’s why you often see them resting on a flat rock. So incorporating flat rocks into your garden gives them a place to sit and warm up,” she said.

As for plants, Gerchman said the “classic” choice is Butterfly Bush. “When we get a shipment in here, sometimes there are clouds of butterflies that get attracted to them,” she said. Another choice is Butterfly Weed, which when growing wild is also known by the less attractive name, Pleurisy Root.

Female butterflies locate and lay eggs on plants that provide food for caterpillars such as Dill, Holly Hock, Milkweed, and Sunflowers.

Recommended perennials to attract butterflies include many of the same flowers that attract hummingbirds, as well as Black Eyed Susan, Cone Flower, Joe Pye Weed, Lavender, and Turtlehead.

Annuals to attract butterflies include Lantana, Marigold, Nasturtium, and Sunflowers.

Good shrubs to attract butterflies are Blueberry bushes and Lilac.

How do YOU attract hummingbirds to your garden? Tell us! We love to hear your tips.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Winn A.

3:40PM PDT on Apr 5, 2013

Thanks

April 5
send a green star

Les M.

10:18AM PST on Feb 5, 2013

warning - trumpet vine is VERY aggressive. we planted it for hummingbirds and the runners show up everywhere in the yard. so far, mowing them down is enough but we want to get rid of it this spring and i don't think we'll be successful.

February 5
send a green star

Dolly Navina L.

7:50PM PDT on Sep 12, 2012

Wowie!

September 12
send a green star

Donna H.

4:30AM PDT on Aug 23, 2012

Thanks!

August 23
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Danuta W.

1:37AM PDT on Aug 22, 2012

Great article. Thanks.

August 22
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Dale O.

8:23AM PDT on Jul 31, 2012

Hummingbird feeders are such a delight to bring these flying colourful jewels close by!

July 31
send a green star

8:22AM PDT on Jul 31, 2012

Nothing like watching the lovely jewel of a bird that is the hummingbird fly by, so many colours and delights seeing these lovely birds. So very tiny and fascinating!

LMj S.

5:22PM PDT on Jul 28, 2012

Thank you for the info!