As spring approaches, there’s something magical about preparing your garden for those delightful aerial acrobats we call hummingbirds. Having spent decades cultivating gardens that attract these magnificent creatures, I’ve learned that success lies in the details.
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See Today's PriceLet me share some time-tested strategies that will transform your backyard into a hummingbird haven.
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1. Start with Native Trumpet-Shaped Flowers
Plant native flowers that bloom in shades of red, pink, or orange. Hummingbirds are particularly drawn to tubular flowers that they can hover over while sipping nectar.
Good choices for New Mexico gardens include bee balm, cardinal flower, and trumpet honeysuckle. Hibiscus is far from the only plant that hummingbirds like.
Trumpet vine, cardinal flower, columbine, honeysuckle, and other tubular-shaped flowers all provide nectar for hummingbirds across North America. Choose flowers that have bright colors like orange or red, and offer plenty of nectar in tubular or trumpet-shaped flowers.
Hummingbirds need bugs, so plant native species that attract plenty of insect life too.
2. Set Up Multiple Feeding Stations
If you’d like to attract Rufous hummingbirds to your garden, be sure to set up multiple, widely spread bird feeding stations in your backyard to attract these tiny birds; the farther they are apart, the better! Because of their feeding habits, separating one hummingbird feeder from another will allow other wayward hummingbirds to get a fair chance to enjoy the sugar water.
It is also a good idea to place hummingbird feeders. You should place feeders in groups in multiple locations in your garden – ideally not within sight of each other.
3. Create a Water Feature
Provide a source of fresh water. Hummingbirds are attracted to moving water, so consider installing a small fountain or waterfall.
You can also simply hang a birdbath in your yard and change the water regularly. Some people say that the sound of running or dripping water will attract hummingbirds, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be moving water.
A regular bird bath will also help create a welcoming environment for hummingbirds and other birds. You can further enhance your garden’s appeal to many species by adding a water feature of some kind.
This might be a fountain feature or a waterfall feature trickling into a pond. This may also be a bird bath or other water feature somewhere else in your garden.
4. Plan a Tiered Garden Layout
It is a great idea to replace lawns or other ecologically barren garden schemes with rich, diverse, and layered planting to create wonderful habitats for hummingbirds and other wildlife to enjoy. Forest gardens, rain gardens, and wildflower meadows are just some eco-friendly garden schemes to consider.
However, providing a meal for hummingbirds is just one of the essential things a hummingbird-friendly garden should do. Plant plenty of trees and shrubs and create lots of dense, layered planting schemes to provide hummingbirds with places to perch, shelter, shade, and potentially even nest.
5. Establish Perching Spots
Place your hummingbird feeders near bushes to provide perching spots. Hummingbirds.net says these little birds spend 80 percent of their time perching.
They like to keep an eye on things, not for a long time but long enough to keep an eye out for predators. It’s easier to protect yourself if you can see your predators coming.
Hummers actually spend up to 80% of their time perching. This includes the time when they are sleeping.
They will use TV antennas, satellite dishes, clotheslines, dead branches, and bushes–anything that gives them a good view of the surrounding area! Adding natural perches like bare twigs may work just as well or better to provide perching spots.
Ultimately, conveniently located food and water, not special swings, will be the main draw for hummingbirds. But for birders who enjoy observing perched hummingbirds up close, trying a swing in your habitat may be worth a shot.
6. Maintain a Consistent Feeding Schedule
Once you start feeding hummingbirds, it’s crucial to maintain a reliable schedule. Clean and refill feeders every 2-3 days in cool weather and daily during hot spells.
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These tiny birds have excellent memories and will return to reliable food sources year after year, making consistency key to establishing a regular hummingbird population.
7. Create Shelter Areas
Hummingbirds require shelter for resting and safety from predators. Small bushes and trees within 10 to 20 feet of the feeding and watering area will work well to provide this necessity.
Plant some shrubs or small trees in your yard to provide shelter for the hummingbirds. The birds will use these as perches and nesting sites.
You can create a backyard oasis that attracts these fascinating creatures by following these simple tips. Even on a small scale, rewilding on your property can be a boon to these and other birds.
Planting trees on your property will provide hummingbirds with nesting sites and create shelter and windbreaks in more exposed locations.
8. Avoid Pesticides
You should avoid pesticides when gardening for hummingbirds, which could hurt the birds directly, and could also kill off the insects that are an important part of their diet. If you want to provide hummingbirds with access to insects that they need to survive, we recommend avoiding pesticides.
In addition to killing off hummingbird sources of food, pesticides may make hummingbirds sick. Pesticides may reduce the number of bugs and insects that annoy you, but pesticides can make hummingbirds sick, and these little birds actually need to consume insects to survive!
We recommend skipping the pesticides in your hummingbird-friendly garden.
9. Extend Blooming Seasons
Drifts of bee balm, clusters of fuchsia and columbine, and trumpet vine stands complement rose beds. Providing a continuous bloom sequence through the seasons is key to attracting hummingbirds.
If your garden only blooms in the spring, they probably won’t stick around all year long! Or they may choose to find a different garden next year that provides blooms throughout the summer and fall.
Lantana plants are popular with gardeners because they have a long blooming window, often producing flowers from late spring through the first frost of fall. This extended bloom time makes lantana an appealing choice for gardeners who love hummingbirds because lantana ends up providing hummingbirds food for the entire season.
You will want to choose a mix of morning glory varieties to extend the blooming season. Ideally, you will plant patches of other flowers like petunias, bee balm, and coral honeysuckle which will attract hummingbirds.
10. Provide Nesting Materials
Hummingbirds like to use soft materials to build their nests. This includes plant materials, like moss, lichens, and soft seeds like milkweeds and dandelions.
Another critical element is spider webs, which help their nests stick together and hold their shape. When a female hummer begins to build her nest, she will gather nesting materials like grasses, small twigs, and other plant materials she can find within the landscape.
She builds a nest layer by layer, using spider webs to bind all the materials together.
11. Maintain Clean Feeding Stations
To prevent spoilage, change the nectar every 2-3 days, or even more frequently in hot weather. Rinse feeders thoroughly before refilling.
When it’s time to clean the feeder, use a water and vinegar solution periodically to fully disinfect the feeders. Next, take the feeder apart to gain access to the different sections.
Thoroughly clean each feeder part with hot tap water and a soapy solution. Make sure that you use a natural, eco-friendly soap to avoid any potential harm to the environment or the birds.
12. Create Wind Protection
One key thing to think about – especially in the mountains – is creating windbreak hedgerows and shelterbelts with native species to reduce the wind and create more sheltered micro-climates, which are helpful to the plants that you grow and the hummingbirds you welcome. Add Plants for Protection Ordering and planting bare-root trees and shrubs is a great way to add to your garden and make it even better for hummingbirds, all the other birds, and any other creatures with whom you share your space.
Placing these in your garden before the worst winter weather arrives could also help you create more sheltered and protected spaces. For example, you might think about creating a shelter belt or windbreak hedgerow to reduce the impact of chilling winds in your garden.
This could make your garden less frost-prone, and give you milder and more protected spots to place hummingbird feeders.
13. Design Color-Rich Zones
Hummingbirds are drawn to flowers of bright colors that stand out in the garden and are especially fond of the color red. One reason that hummers are particularly drawn to red flowers is that other pollinators such as bees can’t see red at all.
It’s impossible to say one plant that hummingbirds like most above all others, but hummingbirds are often believed to have a heightened sensitivity to the vibrant colors red, orange, and yellow, and they’re known to frequent the nectar-rich blooms of tubular flowers. Hummingbirds are attracted to Mandevilla because of the shape and vibrant color of the flowers.
Mandevilla flowers have tube-shaped, trumpet-like blooms, the perfect shape for hummingbirds to easily probe deep into them and reach the nectar within. The bright colors, especially on plants with red blooms, attract hummingbirds.
14. Establish Early Morning Sun Areas
Hummingbirds are most active during early morning hours when they need to replenish energy lost during the night. Position key feeding areas where they’ll receive early morning sunlight, typically on the eastern side of your garden.
This strategic placement ensures nectar-rich flowers warm up quickly and begin producing nectar early in the day.
15. Add Vertical Growing Elements
Fortunately, gardeners across the US will find that other native species of flowering vines are equally attractive to the hummingbirds that visit their appealing gardens. You should be able to find native flowering vines better suited to the growing conditions that you can provide.
Once established, the fast-growing vines will reliably welcome hummingbirds year after year as a harbinger of spring. Mix wisteria with the other regional plants loved by hummingbirds to create an enticing assortment of options – like a buffet for hummingbirds!
Hummingbird garden setup
| Spec | What our writers say |
|---|---|
| Flower shape | Tubular or trumpet-shaped blooms |
| Flower colors | Red, pink, orange, and other bright colors |
| Native starters | Bee balm, cardinal flower, trumpet honeysuckle, columbine |
| Feeder spacing | Multiple stations, far apart and out of sight of each other |
| Water | Moving water, a fountain, or a regular bird bath |
| Perching time | About 80 percent of the day, including sleep |
| Shelter distance | Small bushes and trees 10 to 20 feet from feeding and water |
| Pesticides | Skip them; they sicken hummingbirds and kill the insects they eat |
| Bloom window | Lantana from late spring through first frost |
| Nest extras | Moss, lichens, milkweed, dandelion fluff, and spider webs |
| Nectar change | Every 2-3 days, faster in heat, then rinse with vinegar |
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