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Helping the Hummers Refuel
In a single day of darting to and from colorful flowers, the tiny hummingbird consumes nearly half its weight in sugar as it searches for nectar-rich blossoms.
A hummer’s iridescent feathers shimmer as it perches in sunlight at the end of an apricot tree branch
Hummers are attracted by the intense hue of certain flowers such as nasturtiums
Their wings beat so rapidly, they make a purring sound. Ever industrious, these tiny birds work from dawn to dusk. They are drawn to tubular-shaped flowers or brightly colored ones in shades of red, orange, blue, and pink.
If you want to help the hummers refuel, consider putting flowers on your patio or in your garden that appeal to these little energy burners. Or, better still, plant trees, vines, perennial, and annual plants that will produce the flowers that attract hummers. Choose from the list below.
Behind the unfurled buds of the Jane magnolia are the blue blossoms of Borage, an herb frequented by bees, butterflies, and hummers
Annuals: Borage (blue star flower), impatiens, flowering tobacco, petunia, plox, salvia, and snapdragon
Perennials: aloe, alstomeria, bee balm, California fuschia, cardinal flower, columbine, coral bells, foxglove, gladiolus, parrot’s beak, monkey flower, salvia, and sage
Vines: blood red trumpet vine, cape honeysuckle, lonicera (honeysuckle), flame vine, and trumpet creeper
Trees: acacia, chinaberry tree, citrus, coral tree, eucalyptus, silk tree, and tulip tree
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If you enjoy reading about gardening, keeping chickens and bees, and other backyard farming topics, check out my series of cozy mysteries, including A BEELINE TO MURDER, THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE, and A HIVE OF HOMICIDES (Kensington Publishing, NY)
The novels in this series are all available online and in bookstores everywhere
A HIVE OF HOMICIDES
Murder of a Queen Bee
A Beeline to Murder
Tags: acacia, aloe, alstomeria, bee balm, blood red trumpet vine, borage, California fuschia, Cape honeysuckle, cardinal flower, chinaberry tree, citrus, columbine, coral bells, coral tree, eucalyptus, flame vine, flowering tobacco, foxglove, garden, gladiolus, hummingbird, impatiens, lonicera (honeysuckle), monkey flower, parrot's beak, patio, petunia, plox, salvia, silk tree, Snapdragon, trumpet creeper, tulip tree