As I was sitting outside the other day enjoying this beautiful weather I noticed a hummingbird and thought this would be a great time to write a blog about how to attract hummingbirds and butterflies into the yard. You can always use a hummingbird feeder to bring in the beauty of hummingbirds and butterflies, but I prefer to do it the natural way and create a lush and spectacular landscape.
There are many plants that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies; these plants can easily be designed into your existing landscape or a new landscape. Some of my favorite perennials and annuals that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies are:
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- Monkey Flower (Mimulus)
- Beard Tongue (Penstemon)
Foxglove is a fantastic biennial or short lived perennial. These plants can reach up to 4’high, depending on the variety. Colors range from white to deep lavender. This plant works well in a back drop situation or in the center of a perennial garden.
Monkey flower is a perennial that often times is used as an annual. Flowers come in an assortment of colors and sizes from plants that can reach four feet high, to some that only get a little over a foot high. These can be used anywhere in your garden in full sun to partial shade.
Beard tongue is a large group of flowering plants that consists of over 250 varieties. These plants have trumpet shaped flowers that are attractive to both butterflies and hummingbirds. Penstemon can get up to three feet tall and can also stay as low as 8” depending on the variety. This plant can be used almost anywhere in the garden from sun to shade and will give you blooms throughout the spring and summer with minimal effort on your part.
Some nice shrubs you can add to your landscape are:
- Butterfly bush (Buddleia)
- Lantana
- Abelia
Butterfly bushes come in an assortment of colors from white to red. These plants range in size from 18” to eight feet. You can plant bushes as a backdrop or as an intermediate planting. These plants do go dormant in the winter, but come back each spring bigger and stronger.
Lantana is a vibrant low shrub or ground cover with multicolored flowers that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies in droves. Lantana is affected by the frost in the colder regions of the central valley, but will generally come back each year with a little mulch around the root zone for protection.
Abelia is one of my favorite shrubs to use in design. This plant comes in several different varieties from the standard Abelia Edward Goucher to the variegated Kaleidoscope. The Edward Goucher grows up to five feet tall and wide with small green leaves and white to blushed pink tubular flowers in the summer. The Kaleidoscope grows about three feet tall and wide with golden green variegated foliage and similar flower to Edward Goucher. Both hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted this wonderful blooming shrub.
Many of these plants I have mentioned are drought tolerant and can help you to conserve water as well as giving your landscape an added bonus of the beauty and joy these creatures can bring.
