I have a real love of hummingbirds, but am not a fan of feeding them sugar water. Just like us humans, I believe that natural is the better way to go… none of those processed sugary foods!
The Hummingbird’s natural diet is made up of nectar and tiny flying bugs. Hummingbirds are not interested in eating dead insects or pests on plants – they prefer their meals alive. Hummingbirds like to eat ants, aphids, fruit flies, gnats, weevils, beetles, mites and mosquitoes, and can eat up to 100 or more mosquitoes per day!! Imagine how many mosquito bites you could avoid if a Hummingbird was visiting your yard or patio. So if we don’t feed them our sugar to attract them, what will they eat?
The answer is actually quite a long list! So below I have listed a few of my favorites that are both favorites of hummingbirds as well as easy to grow and attractive for your garden.
Image Source: BeHealthyandRelax.com
Echinacea plants are one of my favorite plants for hummingbirds. Also, they are quite beautiful in the yard and have many medicinal purposes as discussed on BeHealthyandRelax.com. Both butterflies and hummingbirds find them irresistible, and you’ll love them as cut flowers, too.
Image Source: LehighValleyLive.com
Another extremely intricate and beautiful flower that attracts hummingbirds is the Fuschia. While it can be grown otherwise, you may recognize the Fuschia as a hanging potted plant. It is a great flower to have around if you are a nature photographer, amateur or otherwise as you will find the little hummers really love this plant!
Image Source: UFSeeds.com
Lastly are the beautiful gladiolus plant. If you are looking for a tall flower that promotes lots of color in your yard to attract butterflies, this is the way to go! Gladiolus are a late summer bulb flower and can be purchased through our image source UFSeeds.com.
Have you ever noticed how most hummingbird feeders are red? There’s a reason for this – it’s the color they can see best. If you have a feeder and it’s not red, I would suggest adding some red tape to it.
Some other flowers that can attract and feed hummingbirds naturally include:
HoneySuckle
Sunflowers
Delphinium
Foxglove
Pride of Madeira
Cardinal Flower
Salvia
Red Hot Poker
Trumpet Flower
Petunias
Bleeding Heart
Yarrow
Zinnia
Butterfly Bush
Personally, I would go for the red flowers, since hummingbirds see that color best. For more details on these flowers, visit the source: CountryLiving