Attract Hummingbirds with our Habitat Tips

Here are 5 quick tips one of our long-time hummingbird garden experts!

1. Water is key! Make certain that there is always fresh water available for drinking as well as for bathing. 2. Sun & shade - Create both sun & shade areas in your hummingbird garden. Hummingbirds need a place in shade to perch as well as to build their nests. 3. Trees for nesting - Willow trees provide nesting materials which your hummingbirds will use, along with bits of leaves, spider webs, moss, and lichens to build their tiny nests. 4. Nectar vs. blossoms - Hummingbirds must feed 3-5 times per hour and your hummingbirds may become reliant on your garden for it's food, but there many be periods when there are no blossoms from which they can get nectar. It is a good idea to provide hummingbird feeders hung about thirty feet apart throughout your garden for these times. 5. Red is best! The best color for a feeder is bright red to attract the birds from a distance. Never fill your feeders with anything but sugar-water mix of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Do not use food coloring of any kind, and never, never use honey. By not following the basic sugar to water mixture you risk killing hummingbirds as their body is not made to process anything but the basic white sugar water.

You might be wondering what flowers are best? Below are the recommended flowers that have proven to bring lots of hummingbirds to gardens over the years!

Perennials - Columbine (Aguilegia sp.)

- Speedwell (Veronica hybrids)

Vines - Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) - Trumpet Creeper Shrubs & Trees - Azalea (Rhododendron sp.)

-Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) - Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles sp.)

- Hibiscus (Hibiscus sp.) - Lilac (Syringa sp.) - Weigela (Weigela rosea) This plant this is just a starting point and we have tons of plants to attract hummingbirds.