Attracting Hummingbirds: An Explosion of Flowers

It is always a thrill to see a hummingbird in the yard! Their diminutive size and ability to dart in and out among the flowers are amazing to watch.

One of the best ways to attract hummingbirds to your lawn is to grow a profusion of flowers. This picture is of a hummingbird enjoying a meal from a dianthus or Sweet William.

Hummers prefer red, tubular flowers and their favorite is the cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis). This perennial thrives in moist rich soil in sun or part shade.

It blooms from July through September and almost from the time of the first blossom, there will be a hummingbird waiting. Some hummingbird enthusiasts have even claimed that this is the one flower that hummers will actually fight over!

For best results, you should plant a variety of flowers with taller ones in the back and smaller ones in the front. Some other flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds are:

Annuals:

Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana)
Fuchsia (Fuchsia)
Geranium (Pelargonium)
Gladiolus (Gladiolus)
Impatiens, Patient Lucy, Busy Lizzie (Impatiens)
Lantana (lantana camara)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Petunia (Petunia)
Pinks, Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sage (Salvia)
Spiderflower (Cleome)

Perennials:

Bee Balm (Monarda)
Columbine (Aquilegia)
Coralbells (Heuchera sanguinea)
Day lily (Hemerocallis)
Hollyhock (Althea)
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Lily (Lilium)
Lupine (Lupinus)
Phlox (Phlox)

Vines:

Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans)

Shrubs:

Azalea (Rhododendron)
Beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)
Butterflu bush (Buddleia)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Rose mallow (Hibiscus)
Scarlet bush (Hamelia erecta)

This is not an exhaustive list, but it should be enough to get you started. It may take awhile for the hummers to find your garden, but your time will be well rewarded when you spot that first hummingbird!