ATTRACTING HUMMINGBIRDS
Once, while in Brown County, Nashville, IN, we were visiting with friends, sitting on their outdoor deck and observing a number of hummingbirds fighting over a feeder that was hanging from a tree. I was hooked! We went right out and bought a feeder for ourselves and have been putting it out yearly for at least 12 years. Hummingbirds started to appear from the first day and we are sure that from year to year, the same ones (along with a few new ones) keep coming back.
We started with a hummingbird feeder that was a tall, shapely bottle with four feeding areas, one on each side. I have always made my own concoction of nectar which is simply, one part sugar to 4 parts water, bring to a boil then let cool. There is no need for red food coloring, as hummingbirds are not just attracted to the color red. As years went by, we started collecting fancier feeders but quickly found out that they seemed inferior to the original, simple design.
Container gardening is also something that we do a lot of and sometimes we have noticed that the hummingbirds are attracted to certain flowers, even more than to the feeders. Black and blue salvia is one of their favorites. Here is a list of plants that are known to attract hummingbirds: lobelia, lantana, columbine, fuchsia, impatiens, coral-bells, hollyhocks, petunias, nicotiana, geraniums, and begonias.
Shrubs and trees that hummingbirds like are: azaleas, butterfly bush, flowering quince, honeysuckle, weigela, flowering crab, tulip trees, locust and trumpet vine.
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