| 2007 Research Project |
| A DREAM HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN |
| As anyone that has been watching hummingbirds for a while will know, feeders are great but flowers seem to really pull the little birds up close and personal. So we asked our members to tell us what their dream hummingbird garden would look like. Some descriptions were similar but most had unique characteristics that they used to personalize their own gardening preferences. |
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| Everyone wanted a large garden area with lots of hummingbird feeders. Some thought that decorative feeders placed in shady spots would not only add beauty but functionality to their gardens. Others only wanted to use the most well known feeders that hummingbirds seem to be drawn to like a magnet. Most either wanted their feeders out in the open with flowerbed of some appetizing hummingbird flowers such as salvias, phlox, lantanas, or petunias beneath it or they wanted them in the shade of a large tree for protection from the sun and as a playground for their hummingbirds to chase each other. Several members mentioned having feeders on porches or on a favorite window also to bring the hungry hummingbirds up where they would be easier to watch from inside. |
| But a hummingbird garden has to be more than feeders and trees with just a few flowers placed here and there. A couple of members discussed "feeding locations" within their gardens. One described them as feeding islands or Eco-systems dotting the yard that could be enjoyed by the humans selectively or as a whole. |
| Some might place a mini-ecosystem in a corner of their yard that would include a tall tree with several small bushes like Lilacs, Crape Myrtle’s, Butterfly Bushes or Rose of Sharon along the perimeter of this mini-garden. An arbor might be covered with Red Honeysuckle. Several small patches of hummingbird loving flowers such as Hostas, Lady Slippers, Bleeding Hearts or Cat’s Whiskers would be growing in the ground or in containers near shepherd hooks holding feeders. |
| Other mini-gardens would be built around water features with bubbling fountains and shallow ponds filled with pickerel. Shade-loving plants might fill in around the ponds such as Hostas and Bleeding Hearts Along the far side of the ponds in the partial sun you might find Red Hot Poker, Butterfly Bushes, Delphinium or Shrub Hydrangea (nesting areas). |
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| Others might be placed in a wide open sunny area where Sunflowers towered over Balsam, Verbena, Pentas, Petunias and Nicotina giving shade in the blazing sun and creating a mini-jungle for the hummingbirds to flit through. Nearby a gazing ball might catch a hummer’s eye as they play among many Daylilies, Purple Coneflowers, Salvias, and a Joe Pye Weed cultivator. |
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| Some described mini-gardens against fences covered in Morning Glories or Honeysuckle. Below the vines would be splashes of color from vibrant colored Red Lupines, Monarda, Coreopsis, Red Cardinal Flowers, Red/Yellow Fire Pokers, Red Hibiscus and Agastache. For fun, Zinnias might dot the area adding their many colors and forms. |
| One member discussed a lovely garden area tucked in a quiet hidden corner of Penstemons, Yuccas, Four o’clocks, Zauschneria (hummingbird carpet mint), Butterfly Weeds, Coral Starchy, Indian PaintBrush, Gladiolus, Coral-Bells, and Columbines. Comfortable seating would be a must for hummingbird viewing. Everyone one had a fun idea for this including padded swings and gliders or a hammock. |
| Many had similar garden entry ideas using trellises and gates which would be covered in various Honeysuckle’s, Trumpet Vines, Scarlet Runner Beans, Hyacinth Bean Vines or Morning Glories. These ‘gateways to heaven’ would have stepping stones edged in moss that hummingbirds could use in their nests building along with the change of garden spiders supplying the web for them in between the slats of garden picket fences. A fountain nearby would add the mist for hummingbirds to bath in. Surrounding that would be taller plants such as Red Monarda, various Sages, Gladiolus, Firecracker Plants, Larkspur, Nasturtiums, Lobelia, Astilbe and Zinnia. Possibly leaning against a tree would be an old ladder recycled as a trellis for Cypress Vines and Cardinal Flowers. Other recycled or decorative objects could be used to aid taller plants to stand tall in the gentle breezes such as Bee Balm, Comfrey and Foxglove. |
| Often a garden area has to be small such as a deck or balcony. Suggestions were given on the use of planter boxes, window boxes, hanging deck railing planters and stair-step planting shelves to allow the hummingbirds easier access to the various flowers that they might want to sip from. Hanging baskets from hooks of Fuchsias, Petunias or Geraniums would be hung alternately with hummingbird feeders. A small tabletop fountain to add the sound of water that hummers like so much would make this garden extremely relaxing. |
| Oddly enough nearly everyone felt that a staff of full-time gardeners would be a must for their dream hummingbird garden. And with so many wonderful areas to explore and enjoy, when would a person have time to actually plant and care for their dream garden? This may be the reason that, after asking our members what they wanted in a Dream Hummingbird Garden in April, that by August when we asked them how their Dream Garden had turned out, most said that they wish they could have had the time and money to actually put together half of their Dream Hummingbird Garden. |
| Thus we have decided that if we keep our dream of a hummingbird garden alive, we can always be hopeful of attaining part of it….next year. |
| CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 2007 RESEARCH PROJECT were made by: Lisa (MA), Julie (IN), Lizz (AR), Marcia (PA), Dolly (PA), Misty (NJ), Vicki (NJ), Karen M (IN), Jenn (ONT CANADA) and JD (AZ) RESEARCH PROJECT COMPILED by: Lizz (AR) |
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