Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies To Your Garden

By adding plants and items designed to attract humming birds and butterflies, you will be making one of the most beautiful landscape designs available. These little animals not only add not only color, but also an element you cannot find with plants alone. Where else can you have the fast moving colors of humming birds that come and go before you know they are there combine so easily with softly floating butterflies that you can actually touch and catch?

One of the most popular ways to attract the tiny hummingbird is with a feeder. A Sheppard’s hook in your garden, or even using a near by branch; will serve to hang the feeder from. But, it may be more fun for you pick and choose which flowers the little guys would naturally visit. This makes the birds happy and will add a lot of basinful color to your garden.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to picking out what flowers the birds will enjoy the most. Keep your zone in mind when doing your shopping. One great option for just about everywhere is the Red Columbine. It is hardy in zones 2 thru 8 and the vibrant color will be a welcome addition to your garden. Also, because they bloom early, the birds returned from winter vacation will be very attracted to them.

Another great choice is the Delphinium. These grow in zones 2 thru 9 and can reach a height of five feet, which makes them the perfect choice to plant closer to the house, in the back of the garden. The nervous birds will be easily seen from your windows and there is a lot of variety in the coloring of the flowers.

The nice thing about landscaping to attract butterflies and hummingbirds is that you don’t have to choose between them. You can have flowers that the birds love such as a hanging fuchsia or a verbena bush right along side a butterfly bush. Of course, this depends on the sun/shade factor and the zone you live in.

For a nice splash of color, add some Marigolds which are nectar producing which butterflies love. Sunflowers are another butterfly favorite and the seeds can later be used to feed other birds, squirrels or even for you to enjoy yourself.

When deciding what flowers to plant, you will want to keep in mind they type of butterfly you want to frequent your garden. Monarchs, for example, like Rabbit brush and Canada Thistle while Swallowtails enjoy Geraniums and Lilacs. If you are planting daisies, watch for the Queen butterflies. For a good all around plant that several species of butterflies like, go with a Gray Hairstreak. Also make sure the plants are native to your area before adding them.

Be sure that you take care when you apply insect killers to your garden. Many common products not only kill the harmful bugs, but make the plants toxic for the butterfly as well.

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