Plants are natural hummingbird feeders, having nourished our diminutive friends long before containers filled with sugar water came onto the scene. They also provide places to perch, nest, and forage for insects. Here are 10 favorite hummingbird-approved species in my central Maryland habitat. All are native to at least some portion of the eastern U.S. For help in finding plants indigenous to your area, see the resources at the end of this article.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
From Alaska to Patagonia, about 7,000 plant species rely on hummingbirds for pollination. Cardinal flower is one of them. It’s named after the color of the robes worn by Catholic cardinals—a fact I find odd given that the flowers predate the religion by countless millennia. But that’s a rant for another day. Though it’s a short-lived perennial, in the right conditions cardinal flower reseeds prolifically. In my central Maryland garden, where the weather can oscillate from wet to bone-dry in a matter of days, I put plants like this in part shade, where they can enjoy a bit of sun without drying out. Be sure to look for the wild form of the species at native plant sales and nurseries; at least one hybrid has been found to have less than 20 percent of the nectar energy provided by the wild form of the plant.
Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
On a walk into my backyard one early summer, coffee in hand and mind still in dreamland, I came upon a hummingbird darting among the white penstemon flowers. He was so focused on his mission that he never noticed my presence, and I marveled at how easy it had been for me to provide breakfast for him. Until then, I didn’t have any idea that hummingbirds would visit flowers that weren’t some variation of red. But they go to where the nectar is tasty, nutritious and accessible. Penstemon flowers fit the bill, so to speak!
Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
One of the first native plants I ever purchased, bee balm has been putting on a fireworks show every July for 19 years in our habitat. Still in its original spot next to the patio, its babies have dispersed—to the roadside garden, along the front walkway, in the back meadow, and even under some sassafras trees. Every year, our hummingbirds have a specific routine among the flowers, making a beeline (or a birdline?) from the bee balm to the coral honeysuckle to the cardinal flowers and then back again.
Blue waxweed (Cuphea viscosissima)
The cutest little plant you’ve never heard of, blue waxweed is a native annual attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Tiny purple flowers bloom for weeks, and the plant readily reseeds. Purchased several years ago at Chesapeake Natives, my waxweed now shares space with other wildflowers, spreading each year into informal beds and among the milkweeds.
Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)
Though its natural range seems to skip over Maryland, red buckeye has found a welcoming home in my garden. Purchased at a National Arboretum native plant sale at least a decade ago, the two trees have expanded into four more, their seeds scattered about with the help of the squirrels. In some years, red buckeye blooms before any of our other hummingbird plants, and I’ve seen the birds visit it even while it’s still confined to pots at another favorite native plant supplier, Herring Run Nursery in Baltimore.
Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Yes, it’s honeysuckle. No it’s not invasive–far from it. In fact, coral honeysuckle just might be the perfect wildlife garden plant. Grown over a fence or up a trellis, it’s virtually maintenance-free, unless you want to prune it back to keep it lush. I prefer to let it be wherever possible because so many creatures live in the dense growth, from the moth caterpillars nibbling on the leaves to the mockingbirds making their nests. For months at a time, long-lasting flowers nourish hummingbirds, and later the fruit feeds other bird species. I tried to tell all this to a shopper standing next to me at a native plant sale last year, after watching her visibly recoil when she saw the word “honeysuckle” on the sign. But her fear of being tricked into buying invasive Japanese honeysuckle was too great to overcome, and she beat a hasty retreat. At least she left more plants for me!
Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
In my early years I resisted the charms of columbines, though I can’t exactly explain why. Perhaps its blooms were too small and fleeting for the ravenous tastes of my youth. But once I learned that hummingbirds had their own hunger for the plant, I started growing a few here and there and eventually ordered a whole flat of plugs to put under the shade of a maple tree. Though they are short-lived, columbines reseed and will keep popping up around the habitat year after year, much to the delight of returning hummingbirds in spring.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Grown from a Seeds of Change pack for one of my first garden beds, wild bergamot has become a staple for wildlife here. Butterflies spend long days fluttering from flower to flower, sharing space with hummingbirds, hummingbird moths (above) and bees who work the petals by day and sleep underneath the flowers at night. In the winter, we’ve even watched squirrels favor the seedheads of wild bergamot over the buffet offered by nearby feeders. Though it likes a bit of moisture, the plants withstand drought and keep on going, feeding the life around them even in the hottest of summers. The one shown in the top photo seeded itself in a container, beckoning hummingbirds to our second-floor deck.
Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
A native sage, a groundcover and a hummingbird feeder all in one plant? I’ll take it! I added lyreleaf sage to my habitat for the first time this spring after seeing it in the garden of my friend Toni Genberg, the creator of Choose Natives. As far as I know, the hummingbirds haven’t found it yet this year, but when the patch is denser next spring, a mass of blooms will be waiting to herald their arrival.
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Jewelweed was one of the first native plants to volunteer on our property, and unfortunately back then I consulted some misinformed sources and pulled it, thinking it was a “weed.” Now it is one of the only late-season flowers for bees and hummingbirds growing in spots along streams in my neighborhood—the one place riding mowers can’t touch. I have reseeded it on my property thanks to gifts of jewelweed seeds from friends, and now I await its spread. Jewelweed is also a favorite of deer; if you have it, let it proliferate so you can share the bounty.
Related story: “To Feed or Not to Feed? Why plants are the best hummingbird feeders”
Resources
For help in finding hummingbird plants native to your area, check out the National Audubon Society’s Native Plant Finder, a database that’s searchable by zip code and bird species. Many other region-specific lists are available, including those from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas, the Missouri Prairie Foundation, the California Native Plant Society, and Real Gardens Grow Natives in Oregon, to name just a few. Learn more about creating hummingbird habitat in this Audubon article and in this two-part series from Choose Natives.
All photos by Nancy Lawson unless otherwise noted.