Annuals for Hummingbirds
We welcome hummingbirds, those charming aerial acrobats, with a feast, inviting them to make themselves at home in our gardens. The Annuals we like to plant for summer-long color top the welcome wagon for hummingbirds, producing a steady supply of nectar throughout the season. While hummingbirds’ slender elongated bills and long tongues are well-designed for reaching nectar deep inside long tubular flowers, these birds are flexible foragers. If a flower provides ample high-quality nectar, they will find it. For protein, hummingbirds will readily scoop up aphids and mosquitos, vacuum small insects from flowers and even pluck a spider from its web!
Hummingbirds are energetically territorial, so spread your annuals around to keep the peace. Plant Petunias in your front window boxes, Begonias and Fuchsias on a shaded porch, pots of Hibiscus by the pool, Calibrachoa containers on a backyard patio. Fill your beds with Snapdragons, Cleome, Scabiosa, single Dahlias and lots of Salvias and Zinnias throughout for a hummingbird feast.
