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Hummingbird Garden Creating
a hummingbird garden is easier than you think. They can be very
low maintenance and very beautiful at the same time. When you
start your garden think about creating what is called a hummingbird
habitat. Plant flowers that will attract hummingbirds to your
garden. You can also use hummingbird feeders to help attract them.
The best way to start your garden is to look for a good spot to plant. You may want to look for a spot that is easily seen, after all you want to see the hummingbirds. Decide on how large you would like your garden to be. A garden can be very small, like a pot or a hanging basket, to a window box you would place on a window sill, to a yard full of flowers. Your garden needs to be placed someplace that will receive both sun and shade. Hummingbirds love to fed in the sun, but they also need some place to take a break this is cool. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red. They like flowers that are tubular, shaped like trumpets. Some great flowers that can be used for attracting hummingbirds are: Azalea, Begonia, Bleeding Heart, Columbine, Fuchsias, Geranium, Hibiscus, Honeysuckle, Impatiens, Jasmine, Phlox, Petunias and Snapdragon to name a few. Theses flowers have a tubular shape. Hummingbirds have great eyesight, and find flowers easily, but hummingbirds do not have a sense of smell. So planting flowers that have a scent is your choose. Flowers and hummingbirds have a love relationship, because hummingbirds will pollinate flowers as they dart and zip from flower to flower. You will want to pick flowers that bloom at different times of the season. A good combination of annuals, perennials, shrubs, and vines should do the trick. Chose lots of different flowers, hummingbirds love a variety of flowers. Be aware of flowers that are hybrids, they will not produce a lot of nectar for hummingbirds. Look for flowers the grow well in your area and are suited for your climate. A good place to start would be your local garden shop. When you start to plant your flowers and plants, remember to think about spacing. Hummingbirds need room to fly between plants and flowers. You might also think about water. Hummingbirds will drink water and they love to take baths in it. How about putting in a birdbath or a mister for them to clean themselves. After all hummingbirds are meticulous groomers. It just might be fun to watch as they bathe themselves, then take a sunbath afterwards. A good idea also is to put out a hummingbird feeder, even though you have planted all those flowers. Your flowers will bloom at different times and a feeder will help supplement the hummingbirds with nectar. You do not need to use bug killers in your garden. Hummingbirds will do the work for you. They love to eat bugs. They will eat bugs for the protein and feed them to their young. They like all kinds of small bugs especially spiders. They will eat the spiders and use the spiderwebs to build nests out of. So you see planning, picking out flowers, planting and watching these wonderful little birds is not as hard as you think. In fact it can be quit a joy, with lots of entertainment all summer long. Visit this web site to find a list of flowers that will attract hummingbirds to your garden: http://www.thegardenhelper.com/hummingbird.html. Contents and photos
may not be copied or used without express written permission.
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