12 Plants
That Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden
Honeysuckle
Most of the 180 varieties of honeysuckle shrubs and vines emit a sweet fragrance. Hummingbirds especially like any native varieties that are also heat tolerant.
This small tuberous plant prefers partial shade and moist soil. Deer-resistant and requiring little to no pruning, they are easy to care for and will provide a bounty of single or double shimmery blooms in the right conditions.
Daylilies
One of the easiest, most forgiving, low-maintenance perennials is the daylily. Not fussy about soil or light, drought- and heat-tolerant, disease- and pest-free, this versatile plant works well in a border or on its own.
Lantana
Lantana’s exuberant flowers—the individual blooms are tiny, but burst forth in tight clusters—attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Zinnia
An easy flower to grow, this heavy bloomer is a cutting garden staple because of its bright single flower head on tall stems.
Grow these easy-care plants in hanging baskets, containers, or along a garden border; just be sure they get plenty of sun, keep the soil moist but not soggy, and feed once or twice during their growing season. Hummers are especially fond of red, purple, and pink varieties.
Annual Geranium
Whether planted in your flowerbed, a container on your deck, or a hanging basket, geraniums are colorful, hardy plants that enjoy full sun and plenty of water—although not wet foliage.
Brighten up a shady or semi-shady spot with this delicate spring bloomer, which has arching branches of heart-shaped flowers that seem to drip out their insides in sorrow. An herbaceous perennial, it requires little care and dies back to the ground in late fall and returns in the spring.
Lilac
Prized for its aromatic clusters of tiny purple or white flowers, this deciduous shrub can grow 8 to 15 feet tall. Its grayish bark is matched by gray-green or blue-green leaves.
Snapdragons
Delighting children and gardeners for years, the snapdragon opens its “mouth” when pinched in the right spot—which pollinators do as they access the pollen hidden inside. Because the blooms open in stages from the bottom up, bloom time is extended.
Catmint
This easy-to-grow perennial herb has few pests or problems. Deer resistant and fast growing, it thrives on neglect as long as it’s in full sun and well-draining soil.
This North and Central American native vine is a fast grower that produces multitudes of slightly fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in the morning.