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15 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds

Gardening

3 Mar

No flower garden would be complete without hummingbirds. I have 15 tips to attract Hummingbirds to your yard and flower gardens.

If you are like me, I could watch these little birds for hours. In fact, I put a bench in the flower garden for that very reason. My husband and I will sit and watch as they sip nectar from the feeder or flowers.

Today, I wanted to share fifteen tips to attract Hummingbirds. Believe me when I say, it will bring to your garden a sense of peace and tranquility. There is something magical about watching these birds and hearing the fluttering sounds of their wings.

Hummingbird at White Lilac Farmhouse Last Spring

I grew up on an 88 acre flower farm. We had an abundance of flowers of all kinds raised for my grandparents’ florist as well as local florists. There were always an abundance of butterflies of all kinds, bees, and birds. We had no shortages of Hummingbirds. Sometimes, they would get into the greenhouses and my mother or father would rescue them.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. The opinions here are my own.

15 tips to attract hummingbirds

1. Add Plants to Your Garden that attracts hummingbirds

15 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds 2.jpeg
Common Columbine

Some of the best plants that attracts Hummingbirds are:

  • Bee Balm
  • Bleeding Hearts
  • Butterfly Bush
  • Cardinal Flower
  • Columbine
  • Coral Bells
  • Daylilies
  • Fuchsia (annuals)
  • Geraniums (red or hot pink – annuals)
  • Hibiscus (annuals in some areas)
  • Hosta – Hummingbird love the tubular purple blooms
  • Impatiens (annuals)
  • Larkspur
  • Lilacs
  • Lupine
  • Petunias (annuals)
  • Rhododendron
  • Salvia
  • Sage
  • Trumpet Vine
  • Weigela
  • Zinnias (annuals)
Perennial Salvia in Purple
This was the beginning of my Hummingbird garden. It was filled with lots of favorites, from Bee Balm, Lupines, Zinnias (annuals), Petunias (annuals), etc. I have a combination of perennials and annuals mixed into my garden

Add plants and flowers in the garden or around the house that blooms continuously. It ensures that there is adequate food source in the spring, summer and into the early fall.

2. ADD A WATER SOURCE

15 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds 4.jpeg

Fountains can be especially attractive to Hummingbirds if there are spots that are shallow where the water runs over ledges, lips, and rims. It is a great place for Hummingbird to perch to wash. The stone type of fountains that have bubblers are great options to add to your garden. My fountain in the photo above has a bubbler on top also.

Most bird baths are too deep for Hummingbirds. However, if you have a birdbath that has a mister or bubbler it would work.

If found that adding a mister sprinkle to the yard, the Hummingbirds love to fly through it. It not only helps the flowers and water our grass, the little birds love it as well.

My water fountain above has two water sources. None of my photos had the top feature that bubbles. I have seen the Hummingbird go to both sources the top and the bottom dripper.

3. ADD FEEDERS

15 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds B.jpg

Personally, I prefer glass Hummingbird feeders in red, orange, pink or turquoise colors. The glass cleans up much easier than the plastic feeders. The ones that I use are listed below under Feeders and Homes for Hummingbirds. They have little perches for the Hummers to rest while feeding.

Unfortunately, the pink feeder shown in the photo was found at a local nursery.

4. Keep Your Feeders Cleaned & Filled

It is very important to keep your feeders cleaned from mold building up and filled with fresh nectar. Nectar will spoil so it important to empty, clean and refill. If your feeders are in full sunlight, you will need to clean and refill every three days. If the feeders are in full shade, you should clean and refill every 5 days.

To clean your feeders, empty them and put in the sink of hot soapy water. You need to rinse with water thoroughly before refilling. Cleaning them will prevent any harmful mold growth inside the feeder.

5. Do Not Use Red Dyes or Food Coloring

Red dyes and food coloring are very harmful to Hummingbirds. Do not purchase the store bought nectar that contains dye. It is really easy to make homemade nectar. See the recipe in tip number 6.

6. Feed them quality nectar

It is easy and cost efficient to make your own homemade nectar. You know the quality of making it homemade.

I follow the recommendation from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Two ingredients: refined white sugar and water. To make safe nectar: mix one part of sugar with four parts water. I use 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. Do NOT add red or any color food dyes to it. Stir the water and sugar mixture until it has completely dissolved. Tap water is fine and you do not need to boil the water.

Fill your Hummingbird feeder with the sugar water and place outside. The extra nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Then you will need to make a new batch.

7. The Ideal Spot

Find a good spot in the yard to place your feeders. You can hang them from the porch, shepherd hook in the garden/yard or from a tree in the yard.

8. Safe Spot

When you are thinking about where to put your feeders, it is important to keep them out of the reach of cats or other predator. You do not want your feeder hung low. Keep them also far enough away from windows and doors. You don’t want the little birds flying into the glass or screen.

9. Attach Your Feeder to an ant moat

15 Tips To Attract Hummingbirds A.jpg

Ants love the nectar too. Although I did not have this problem last year, I have in past years. Then I discovered ant moats. You attach to the hook and then simply fill the moat with water. you can see it in the photo above. The ants go in, but they can’t get out and they cannot get into your feeders. Your feeder will hang from the Ant Moat.

This Juegoal Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors is 30oz and Hand Blown Glass Hummingbird Feeder that comes with an ant moat. It is at a great price point. I have two of them in my yard. You can find them here.

10. Use Bee Resistant Feeders

Most feeders these days are designed to for bee resistance. The bee resist the feeding flowers and it will allow your Hummingbirds a great feeding experience.

11. Create Distance between the feeders

In the past, I would group of feeders together. Then I realized that one overly aggressive bully Hummingbird could keep the rest from feeding. So I did a little research and found that it is best to have several feeders spaced out at least 15-20 feet apart from the other feeder. It will provide more space for Hummingbirds to feed, especially if you have one bird that seems to be more aggressive and scares the others away. 

12. Place feeders at the beginning of the season

You will want to get your feeders out early. Before you think the Hummingbirds will show up. Sometimes, they will show up earlier than expected. So it’s best to be prepared. You don’t want them to find favor at your neighbor’s yard.

A rule of thumb that I have been using is I hang up my Hummingbird feeders when the Cherry Trees in our area begin to bloom. Not sure when to put your feeders out. I got you!

Here is a list by state of when to put out the feeders. At least, it will give you a generally idea for the state that you live in.

For Maryland is it saying late April but the Cherry Trees are starting to bloom. Therefore, I am getting my feeders ready now.

STATEWHEN TO PUT HUMMINGBIRD
FEEDER OUT
STATEWHEN TO PUT HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER OUT
AlabamaLate April/Early MayMontanaLate April/Mid May
AlaskaLate April/Early MayNebraskaMid May
ArizonaEarly-Mid April or Year-RoundNevadaEarly April or Year-Round
ArkansasLate March/Early AprilNew HampshireEarly May
CaliforniaMid March/Early April or Year-RoundNew JerseyLate April/Early May
ColoradoMid AprilNew MexicoLate March/Early April
ConnecticutLate April/Early MayNew YorkLate April/Early May
DelawareLate March/Early AprilNorth CarolinaLate March/Early April or Year-Round
FloridaEarly-Mid MarchNorth DakotaMid May
GeorgiaLate February/Early MarchOhioMid-Late April
HawaiiNo Hummingbirds/Banned By State LawOklahomaMid April
IdahoEarly-Mid AprilOregonLate February/Early March
IllinoisLate April/Early MayPennsylvaniaEarly-Mid April
IndianaLate April/Early MayRhode IslandLate April/Early May
IowaLate April/Early MaySouth CarolinaMid March or Year-Round
KansasMid-Late AprilSouth Dakotarare/Mid May
KentuckyEarly-Mid AprilTennesseeEarly-Mid April
LouisianaMid March/Early AprilTexasMid March/Early April
MaineEarly MayUtahLate April/Early May
MarylandLate April/Early MayVermontEarly May
MassachusettsLate April/Early MayVirginiaMid April
MichiganMid April/Early MayWashingtonLate February/Early March
MinnesotaEarly MayWest VirginiaMid April
MississippiMid March/Early AprilWisconsinLate April/Early May
MissouriEarly-Mid AprilWyomingMid May
When to place your Hummingbird Feeders Out – Table By State

13. Hang Baskets of tubular flowers or Bright Color Flowers

Baskets of Fuchsia, Geraniums (red or pinks) or Petunias (purples and pinks) are Hummingbird favorites. Not only do they look gorgeous hanging from your porch. The beautiful colors will draw the sweet little hummers to feed.

14. ADD THE COLOR RED, Purple, Orange and Hot pink

Hummingbirds are drawn to bright vivid colors of red, purple, orange and hot pink. Even turquoise will have them eating from your feeder. You should incorporate these colors into your flower beds and hanging baskets. Bright color yard flags could catch these little hummer attentions too. Just make sure you have lots of flowers that they love near by or a shepherd hook with a feeder.

Large tubular plants such as Hibiscus, Daylilies or Lupines are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Tubular flowers hold the most nectar.

15. Create a Custom Perch for Your Hummingbirds

You can make an easy little perch/swing for Hummingbirds with basic materials found around the house. I made mine from a yard twig and some floral wire. It gives the little hummers a place to rest.

You can use a dowel, copper wiring to make it fancier. You can drill holes into the twig or dowel to add bright color beads or crystals to help attract the Hummingbirds. If you don’t want to make one, I have some cute options listed below.

For your Hummingbirds

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. The opinions here are always my own. It helps me to continue to bring to you new content, DIY and projects tutorials on my blog. It cost money to maintain a blog.

Feeders and homes for the little hummers

Perches/swing for the little hummers

Fountains

I hope you found these 15 tips to attract hummingbirds useful. These tips have worked for me over the years and experienced years of enjoyment watching Hummingbirds in the gardens.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. If you have any questions about attracting hummingbirds or have a tip that works for you, please share it below.

OTHER Garden Posts

  • How To Start An Outdoor Herb Garden.
  • How To Install An Automatic Drip Irrigation System
  • A Front Porch Refresh

I would love for you to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here.

Have a blessed day,

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36 Comments

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Comments

  1. Cindy says

    April 6, 2021 at 10:35 pm

    Thanks for all the tips Tammy! Thankfully, I have most of the flowers you listed. But yikes, looks like for Delaware I am a little late getting my feeder out!! I’ll go do it now!! Pinning this post for sure!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      April 7, 2021 at 4:50 am

      Thanks, Cindy. I appreciate you reading the post. I need to add Coral Bells, Hostas and Bleeding Hearts to my garden. A friend has Hostas for me from her yard. The best kind of plants are free ones.

      Reply
  2. Juliet says

    April 7, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    Appreciate these ideas … and forwarding to my husband who is obsessed with attracting these cute little birds to our garden. Love the sound of them buzzing by! xo

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      April 7, 2021 at 4:57 pm

      Thank you so much, Juliet for reading the post. Last year, my neighbor had more of them than me. I know it was because my feeders were up later than hers so they got use to her feeders.

      Reply
  3. Jennifer Dynys says

    April 30, 2021 at 12:03 pm

    Such a great post! Plus I love your theme, I am planning to switch to Refined on Kadence soon. I would love to share this post today on my blogging roundup!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 3, 2021 at 11:05 pm

      You are always welcome to share any of my posts, Jennifer on your blogging round up. I would be honored.

      Reply
  4. Scarlett says

    May 17, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    I just saw our first hummingbird of the season last week. We have them every year & it’s always such a treat to see them. They love our Jasmine this time of year. They are also attracted to our Petunias & our Impatiens and even our Lantana.

    I stopped hanging the feeders years ago when I saw they were gravitating to our flowers. We had some pretty aggressive Raccoons that were terrorizing all of our birds feeders. Same with the squirrels. We tried every bird feeder we could find & no luck running off the little rascals (remember we live in a swamp = Florida).

    I do love your glass hummingbird feeders & your nectar recipe. I’ve considered buying the little houses & the perches before. Seeing your selection has be inspired. Thanks Tammy!
    ~Scarlett

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 17, 2021 at 9:21 pm

      Scarlett, sounds like you have a beautiful yard. With all of the flowers they are bound to come back to your yard every year. I do believe in natural plants are the best overall. It’s why I started a cottage garden here filled with all kinds of flowers and shrubs for butterflies, bees and Hummingbirds. Definitely hang some of the little houses for them to have babies. I would love to see what a baby Hummer looks like! Thank you for stopping over and reading this post.

      Reply
  5. Melba says

    May 17, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    The hummingbirds in my garden love to bathe on the water. One of them scares the other birds out. He thinks he is in charge of the water feature. LOL!

    Reply
  6. alda ellis says

    May 17, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    Your feeders are gorgeous too…with or without the hummers ! Loved knowing what the little ones like.

    Reply
  7. Crystal says

    May 17, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    What great tips! So informative. Going to find one of those ant moats!!!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 17, 2021 at 9:17 pm

      Thank you, Crystal. I am glad you found some good information in this post. Thank you for stopping by the blog today.

      Reply
  8. Leslie Watkins says

    May 17, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    I love hummingbirds! They have been so busy and happy at my feeder. I think this year I may add a second…there are always a few that scare others away! Mercy! I had no clue you grew up on a flower farm! How glorious! I would have been in heaven!!

    Reply
  9. Stacy says

    May 17, 2021 at 8:46 pm

    Thanks for the tips. We always have a few around and I wanted to see how to attract more and make the one I have feel at home. I appreciate your insight!

    Reply
  10. Linda says

    May 17, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    So many great tips! I will definitely start making my own hummingbird food. I always bought the packaged kind.

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 18, 2021 at 12:56 am

      Thank you so much, Linda for popping over to the blog. Hope you have lots of sweet Hummingbirds in your yard this year.

      Reply
  11. Dee says

    May 18, 2021 at 6:41 pm

    Such a good, well written post that is very informative! I love hummers and I really feel bad, people do love these little birds but don’t do their research and put those horrible hummingbird feeders full of red grossness that can make them so sick! Thank you for educating the public!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 19, 2021 at 2:47 pm

      Me too, Dee. I could sit and watch them all day. They are so very interesting.

      Reply
  12. Elizabeth@pineconesandacorns says

    May 19, 2021 at 2:14 pm

    So many great tips! I will have to try a few that I did not know about! I typically see one or two a year but I want to see a few more. Thank you for sharing all of your tips!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 19, 2021 at 2:46 pm

      Thank you, Elizabeth. You can never have too many Hummingbirds in the yard.

      Reply
  13. Jenn says

    May 19, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    Such a great post! We have an abundance of hummingbirds here in MO right now! We just love them! Looks like my feeders are too close together! We do have some bossy ones that like to control the feeders!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 19, 2021 at 2:43 pm

      Jenn, Hummingbirds are so much fun to watch. I bet your yard looks amazing with all the little hummers flying around.

      Reply
  14. Do Dodson says

    March 5, 2022 at 1:33 am

    Great post! I have ordered be glass feeders and I can’t wait to get started. I’m making a list of the new plants I’ll need. So exciting. 😘

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 5, 2022 at 6:31 pm

      Do, I love these glass feeders. Not only are they beautiful, the Hummingbirds love them. I bought the blue, red and yellow glass colored ones last year. They really are pretty.

      Reply
  15. Kim says

    March 5, 2022 at 10:11 pm

    These are such fantastic tips, Tammy! We so enjoy our hummingbirds in the summer! You’re hummingbird garden is just beautiful, and I will definitely refer to this very thoughtful and thorough post this spring! Thank you for the great information!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 6, 2022 at 3:37 pm

      Kim, thank you so much and glad you enjoyed the post. Hummingbirds are so majestic. Last year, I had one curious about me and flew up to my face looking at me for a few seconds. It was magical!

      Reply
  16. Rachelle says

    March 10, 2022 at 3:08 am

    I love it when those hummingbirds come calling. I have honeysuckle, well two in my yard and they seem to enjoy that most of all. Thanks for all the info.

    Thanks for sharing at the FWF link party
    Rachelle

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 11, 2022 at 8:07 pm

      Rachelle, I bet when you have your windows open it smells amazing. I love the scent of honeysuckle and lilacs.

      Reply
  17. Crystal says

    March 13, 2022 at 4:30 am

    What a great blog! I love hummingbirds and want to attract them this summer so this was wonderful to read. I definitely need the ant moat!

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 16, 2022 at 11:59 am

      Thank you, Crystal. I appreciate your comments about the blog and the post.

      Reply
  18. Marie says

    March 19, 2022 at 4:40 am

    This is so helpful! Hummingbirds are one of my favorite birds. They really like our lavender plants. Your list of plants that attract them is great. I’ll refer back when I add new plants to the garden.

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 20, 2022 at 1:43 pm

      Thank you so much, Maria. Hummingbirds are my favorite too.

      Reply
  19. CoCo says

    March 21, 2022 at 11:12 pm

    This was such a great post on attracting hummingbirds, Tammy! I can’t believe you have them on video and in pictures too – that is so cool. They really do make the garden a magical place and yours is definitely a sight to behold. Every plant and flower is just beautiful! Hugs, CoCo

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      March 22, 2022 at 12:10 am

      CoCo, last year whiling sitting on my front porch rocker, a hummingbird hovered in front of my face. I kept very still and watched him in amazement. It was one of God’s blessings that day. This precious little bird was just as curious about me as I was with him. They really captivate me! Thank you for your sweet comments. xoxo

      Reply
  20. Nancy Cox says

    May 10, 2022 at 1:41 am

    Where did you get that beautiful Shepards hook?

    Reply
    • Tammy says

      May 10, 2022 at 11:54 am

      Hi Nancy, I found it at Lowes. It has four arms to it. The price was not bad either.

      Reply

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Thank you for stopping over at my blog at White Lilac Farmhouse. Hi, I am Tammy. A mother of four grown children, Nana to four amazing grandchildren, wife, and Mama to funny little fur babies, Chloe the Boston Terrier and Piper the French Bulldog. The girls as I call them are often in my photos as they are my little shadows.

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