If you're especially fond of hummingbirds and butterflies, you can place particular plants in your garden that will urge these creatures to pay a visit. Lots of plants make good candidates for attracting these winged creatures. Ciscoe Morris, head gardener at the Seattle University in Washington, introduces a few more that you might not have thought of:
- Hummingbirds and butterflies love delphiniums. There are two simple tricks to growing these beautiful flowers: Make sure they never dry out and give them lots of fertilizer. Just put a generous amount of fertilizer around the plant, work it into the ground and water well.
- Butterflies prefer Scabiosa 'Butterfly Pink' to 'Butterfly Blue'. Studies have shown that butterflies are more attracted to pink.
- Red-hot poker attracts hummingbirds, which seem to like both the yellow and red varieties. This plant likes full sun, but don't let it get too dry; it likes moist soil. Don't cut off old, spent flowers; once the flowers go to seed, nuthatches relish the seeds.
There are hundreds of other plants you can use to tempt hummingbirds and butterflies. The more colorful and fragrant the flower and plants, the better chance you have of attracting your flying, feathered friends.
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