Hi tweets,
Someone asked about hummingbird feeding/attracting. My sister and I
have been experimenting with hummingbird/butterfly/insect gardens in our
respective backyards for several years in western Washington state. This
is our cumulative insight.
My preference is to use hummingbird feeders only in late
February/March when natural sources of nectar are less available. If the
salmonberry, Indian Plum, Red-flowering Currant & fruit trees are slow to
flower, this can be critical for the early Rufous Hummer scouts.
That being said, I think we need to at least consider that natural
sources of nectar may be very important to hummers. There may be trace
elements of nutrients in them that they need. My first priority is
native plants- I've listed the best early ones above. I also have a
well-stocked herb garden; it attracts not only hummers, but also the
small insects that hummers eat, plus butterflies.
Some plants that get heavily utilized by hummers include
native/ornamental honeysuckles, Bee Balm, Anise Hyssop, Coral Bells,
Candlelabra Sage, Lavender, native Columbine Aquilega formosa, plus
ornamental columbines, mints, sage including the very late-blooming but
beautiful annual Pineapple sage. For heavy insect use, the garden needs
to be in full sun 10-4 pm. Locations that are protected by
walls/fences/hedges from wind tend to be preferred. Hummers use
butterfly bush Buddleia davidii. Fennel attracts a lot of tiny insects.
There are no doubt many many other additions to this list. Good luck!
Janet Partlow
elwha.evergreen.edu