No Birdfeeder Needed-How to Attract Hummingbirds

How to Attract Hummingbirds

When I had a larger porch, I had several bird feeders to attract hummingbirds and other birds. I could buy feeders now, but accidentally and delightfully discovered that some of my plants attract hummingbirds. I even took a gardening class on how to attract hummingbirds by selecting specific plants they like to feed on.

Since I’m all about saving money, I have added some plants to my garden to attract these beautiful birds to my balcony. I love the fact that I can bring in hummingbirds and other wildlife just by the plants I choose to grow.

Why Hummingbirds Like Certain Plants

Hummingbirds love plants with flowers in a variety of colors, but they are most attracted to plants with red flowers. The red color reminds these little birds of food. It’s also a color to camouflage them from bees.

Colors

Hummingbirds like feeding off of flowers that are yellow, orange, pink and red. Red is a more popular color, but hummingbirds have fed off my yellow and orange flowering plants as well.

Size

Hummingbirds will drink from large and small flowers. As long as a flower produces nectar, hummingbirds don’t care how tiny or huge the nectar is coming from.

Shape

Since hummingbirds have long, thin beaks, it is common to see them feed off of flowers with the same shape. They can drink nectar from small, thin flowers, as well as large open flowers. This is why it’s a good idea to have different types of flowers in your garden.

Types of Plants Hummingbirds Enjoy

As stated above, hummingbirds love a variety of flowers in different colors. There are particular flowering plants they get nectar from more than others. I will explain to you these flowers below.

Hibiscus

Hummingbirds love these plants with their huge, colorful flowers. I have an orange and pink hibiscus plant that hummingbirds love to drink from. These plants come in a variety of colors and are a great addition to any garden.

Lantanas

Lantanas are another great flowering plant to add to your garden to attract butterflies. I love my pink and yellow lantanas. I have seen them in yellow, orange and purple all over town. There are over 100 species of lantanas to choose from.

 

Marigolds

Marigolds are another colorful flowering plant that can attract hummingbirds to your garden. I bought mine to keep aphids from my hibiscus, so if they can also attract hummingbirds to my garden, that is an added bonus!

Zinnias

Zinnias are additional colorful and inexpensive flowers to add to your garden to keep hummingbirds coming back. They are easy to grow and just need to be watered on a regular basis. Zinnias come in a variety of beautiful colors!

Fuchsias

Another personal favorite are fuchsias. These also come in a variety of colors. I love watching hummingbirds drink from my hanging fuchsias.

Fuchsias can also be grown in several ways. They grow great in hanging pots or on a vine. Either way, hummingbirds will come back for the sweet nectar these plants produce.

Petunias

Petunias are popular flowers that keep hummingbirds returning for food. Pick a color, then enjoy as hummingbirds relocate to your garden for food.

Salvia

Hummingbirds also love the red hue of salvias. These flowers also come in other colors, although red is popular.

Friends

Many of these plants also attract butterflies. Some days I have both hummingbirds and butterflies visit my small balcony garden. I love how my plants attract these beautiful creatures!

Concluding Thoughts

As you can see, there are many types of flowers that will attract hummingbirds to your garden. If you know how to attract hummingbirds to your garden in other ways, please do not hesitate to tell me below. Happy hummingbird hunting!