You Can Help Hummingbirds by . . .

Making Your Backyard a Hummingbird Restaurant

The life of a hummingbird consists of a relentless search for food. In areas settled by humans, the flowers that hummingbirds have evolved to hunt down and suck dry often disappear.

The good news is that the lost natural food sources can be easily replaced by planting the right plants and providing sugar water* in hummingbird feeders.

Including Some Good Hummingbird Plants in Your Landscape

	Bee Balm Monarda didyma This perennial blooms in midsummer and grows about three feet tall. There are many varieties of colors and sizes available at nurseries. The variety Jakob Kline is resistant to powdery mildew.
	Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis A red spike of flowers arises from the basal leaves of this perennial in late summer. This plant tolerates some shade and prefers a moist soil.
	Trumpet Creeper Campsis radicans A tall, vigorous vine, the large flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds. The pictured variety has yellow flowers but most often they have red flowers.
	Coral Honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens This well-behaved vine flowers profusely in April and May and then sporadically throughout the summer. With the return of cooler weather in the fall, it flowers heavily again. The pictured variety has yellow flowers but they are usually pinkish-red.
	Columbine Aquilegia canadensis This perennial blooms from April to June and grows about one foot high. It tolerates some shade and likes to grow amid rocks.

*Making Safe Hummingbird Food

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

1. Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water and bring to a boil to kill any bacteria or mold present.
2. Cool and fill feeder.
3. Extra sugar water may be stored in a refrigerator.
4. Red dye should not be added.