The only thing better than having a garden thriving with colorful blooms is noticing the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings outside your window! These cheery little birds bring joy to any garden. It’s migrating season for our fluttering friends, so with spring settling in we see more of them everyday. In winter, our Eastern US Ruby-Throated hummingbirds find homes in Mexico or Central America, and can start heading back our way as early as February. So now that these sweet birds are back, how can you attract more of them to your garden this season? Check out these helpful tips!
Let’s paint the town red! Hummingbirds really do love this color. Some of the best flowers for hummingbird pollination are red, so they’re instinctively drawn to it. The more red flowers + feeders, the better!
Keep your feeders fresh. Heavy-duty plastic feeders are great for staying brighter longer. Make sure it’s easy to clean so that replacing the water isn’t a huge chore. Making your own nectar is simple too! Use one part white sugar with four parts water, mix well + boil to remove impurities and keep it fresh longer. If it starts to grow moldy or has a cloudy appearance it can be dangerous for our feathered friends! It’s typically good to replace the mixture every few days.
It’s all about the flower power. Fresh blooms for these little birds are the way to go. Deadheading, or removing old blooms, will keep your flowers producing fresh blossoms that hummingbirds love. Bright red flowers like Daylilies, Cardinal Flowers + Hibiscus can be great additions to your garden that will keep them coming back for more!
Perch perfect. Rest is important, especially for a tiny bird that flaps their wings up to 70 times a second! They love using perches to preen their feathers and to hunt, so it can be great to set these up around your yard slightly away from your feeders.
Hoping to attract more hummingbirds to your garden this season? GSCO has all the supplies you need to keep them fluttering around frequently! Stop by + we’ll be happy to help!