Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies to Your Garden

Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden is the dream of many, and for good reason. They add a sense of calm and serenity to a world that certainly could use more of it. 

And the great news is that, if you understand what you’re doing, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies can easily be done. 

 

Hummingbird Gardens

Hummingbird gardens must offer not only nectar-filled flowers but also provide a habitat that supports their lifestyle. 

These little birds need

• Sun and shade
• Shrubs and tree branches for perching
• Fresh water for drinking and bathing
• Materials for nest-making such as spider webs, dryer lint, or bits of leaves

 

 

These delicate birds spend lots of energy flying, so it comes as no surprise that they must feed many times each hour (3-5 times). While our flowers are blooming there is nectar for them to sip, but once you have offered them a flower food source, you can also place hummingbird feeders in prominent locations to feed them. 

 

Hummingbird Feeders

Hummingbird feeders supplement the flower nectar, especially when flowers are few. Hang them from tree branches or a shepherd hook high enough to keep the hummingbird safe from the neighborhood cats.

 

Flowers that Attract Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds love tubular shaped flowers (although that shape is not absolutely required). Fragrance is not important to them, but vivid colors of red, purple, pink, orange, and yellow will attract them to your garden. At our Portland garden center, we have a large selection of flowering annuals, perennials & woody plants that will attract hummingbirds into your garden. 

 

Just a few to check out:

 

Angel Trumpet

Cape Fuschia 

Nasturiums

Camellias

Daphne

Trumpet Vines

Lily 

 

 

Butterfly Plants: Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden

 

Below you will find a thorough list of butterfly-attracting trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals.  All will grow well in the Pacific Northwest, and if you’re looking for any help with the following foliage, be sure to visit us at our Portland garden center 

 

 

Trees that Attract Butterflies

 

If you are interested in bringing butterflies to your garden, here are a few trees that will do the trick:

• Aescules

• Prunus

• Salix

 

 

Shrubs that Attract Butterflies

 

When planting shrubs in your garden, consider the following if you want to invite butterflies for a visit:

• Abelia

• Buddleia

• Calycanthus occidentalis

• Caryopteris

• Clethera

• Ceanothus

• Ligustrum

• Lonicera

• Rhododendron

• Salix

• Syringa

 

Perennials for Attracting Butterflies

 

Going shopping for perennials anytime soon? Keep the following list handy:

• Achillea

• Allium

• Arabis

• Asclepias

• Aster

• Aubretia

• Centhranthus

• Chives

• Chrysanthemum

• Coreopsis

• Helenium

• Helianthus

• Hemerocallis

• Echinacea

• Echinops

• Erigeron

• Eupatorium

• Gaillardia

• Lavender

• Liatris

• Lilium

• Lythrum

• Mentha

• Monarda

• Myosotis

• Nepeta

• Phlox

• Physostegia

• Salvia

• Scabiosa

• Sedum

• Solidago

• Rosemarinus

• Rudbeckia

• Verbena

• Veronica

 

Annuals for Attracting Butterflies

 

 

• Ageratum

• Cosmos

• Heliotrope

• Lantana

• Linonium

• Lunaria

• Marigold

• Nicotiana

• Petunia

• Tithonia

• Verbena

• Zinnia