Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies to the Garden
 People grow gardens for many reasons. The majority of people grow gardens for the beauty of the flowers in their yards. However, there are many gardeners who establish certain areas of their landscape for cutting flowers to bring the flower's beauty inside. In addition, more and more gardeners are growing areas of their gardens as a refuge for hummingbirds and butterflies.
I have landscaped my garden to include certain plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to complement the beauty of the flowers. The perennial, Echinacea also known as Purple Cone Flower, is an excellent choice to attract butterflies. Hummingbirds and butterflies provide an element of active beauty to the garden. I love watching all the butterflies congregate around the butterfly bushes (budleia) that I have planted in my yard. It is fascinating to observe their interactions with plants. I can sit on my front porch and watch hummingbirds hover over the blooms of a wide assortment of annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees obtaining their nectar.
The biggest challenge in planting a hummingbird garden is finding the right plants to provide blossoms throughout the entire season when hummingbirds are present.
The following annuals are good choices:
Impatiens
Petunia
Salvia
Zinnias
The following perennials are good choices:
Red Cardinal Flower
Heuchera
Phlox
Echinacea |
