May 2008 - Natural Hummingbird Foods

For those bird lovers who want to remove the hummingbird feeders and replace them with wholesome forage (some believe that sugar water in feeders is to hummingbirds as heroin is to humans), below is a list of best plants for hummers:

Flowers: Columbine (Aquilegia), Delphinium, Coral Bells (Heuchera sanquinea), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), Sage (Salvia officinalis), and Scarlet Sage (Salvia spendens). Try any of the Hyssops, especially Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) - fabulous bee and hummingbird moth plants, too.

Vines include Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans), Morning Glory, Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Japanese Honeysuckle (L. japonica), and Wisteria. Hummers will also visit the Hyacinth Bean or Philipino Bean (Dolichos lablab), an extraordinarily handsome annual heat-loving climber with green and deep maroon heart-shaped leaves. The bean-like, white to pink flowers are non-stop and really put on a show. How can one lose when the plant includes deep maroon stems AND bean pods to match? If left to maturity, the pods will dry and produce several neat-looking black seeds with a white strip down the edge. Handsome in every sense and plenty of seed for next year.

Some shrubs that cater to hummers are Butterfly bush (Buddleia), Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), Beauty Bush (Kolkwitzia amabilla), Tatarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), and Weigela.

Native and non-native trees that provide forage are the Buckeye (Aesculus), Silk Tree (Albizia julibriesia), Tulip Tree (Lirodendron tulipfera), Chinaberry (Mulia azedarach), and Black Locust (Robinia pesudoacacia).

Hanging baskets and planters around porch and deck will also attract hummingbirds if you include fuchsias, petunia, impatiens and pelargoniums

Check out some of these plants at the annual Vandalia Heritage Festival at the Cultural Center and Capitol Grounds, always on Memorial Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25th. I'll be there, with Braxton County's Melissa Dennison of Garden Treasures. But check out the whole festival - music, dance, crafters, vendors of all sorts, and the food . . .! Come down, say Hi, and tell us you read about it in Two-Lane Livin'. See you there.

Sue Cosgrove grows organically in Calhoun County. A popular speaker, she covers topics ranging from compost to herbs, and mulch to mycology (mushrooms). Her artistic passions include baskets and traditional and contemporary wheat weaving. In her spare time she works for the US Postal Service. Cosgrove can be reached at chewsorganic@yahoo.com.