How to create a garden haven
What’s better than a beautiful garden? A beautiful garden that butterflies and hummingbirds love to visit. These stunning creatures add a fascinating element to your garden, and attracting them isn’t difficult.
Plants
What you plant in your garden will have a big impact on whether you see butterflies and hummingbirds.
A hummingbird’s diet includes nectar, sap and pollen. They’re attracted to bright colors, especially red. Similarly, butterflies are attracted to bright colors, and they also eat nectar. Given this, it’s clear that you need to include bright flowers that hold plenty of nectar in your garden if you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Petunias, butterfly bush, trumpet creepers, bee balm, cardinal flower and daylilies are among the many flowers that are good for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Focus on flowers that grow well in your climate.
Feeders
In addition to planting the right flowers, including hummingbird and butterfly feeders is a great way of attracting these beautiful guests.
You can fill a hummingbird feeder with store-bought nectar designed for use in hummingbird feeders, or you can make your own. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute has an easy recipe you can use.
You can buy a butterfly feeder, but it’s also easy to make your own. DIY & Crafts has instructions for 10 do-it-yourself butterfly feeders.
Clean the feeders regularly to keep them free of harmful bacteria and mold.
Water
Having a suitable water source in your garden will help attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. Both butterflies and hummingbirds have specific needs, so it’s not enough to have water. You have to make sure it’s water that the small creatures can access.
Hummingbirds are much smaller than other birds, so keep this in mind when selecting a bird bath. To accommodate the tiny birds, the bird bath should be shallow and may include a gentle fountain. Other bird baths designed for hummingbirds use a mister.
You can buy hummingbird bird bath, or you can make it yourself. Birds & Blooms has instructions for building a hummingbird mister. Hometalk has instructions for creating a hummingbird bath using a cookie sheet. Just as with feeders, you’ll need to clean the bird bath regularly.
Butterflies like shallow puddles and moist soil. You can create a suitable puddle with a plate, some soil and a little water. DenGarden has step-by-step instructions for creating a butterfly puddle.
Pesticides
Although hummingbirds eat mostly nectar, sap and pollen, they also eat bugs. Therefore, if you want to attract hummingbirds, you don’t want to kill off all the insects that hummingbirds want to eat. Think of the hummingbirds as a natural method of pest control.
It’s also important to avoid using chemicals that could harm the hummingbirds or butterflies. If you need to use pesticide, try sticking to natural and nontoxic options.