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August
04
2011Hummingbird/Bee/Butterfly Food Courts
Written by Jungle Jim
Looking to attract nature into your yard? Depending on what you’re trying to attract, look at their preferred food sources. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies prefer flowers that have lots of available food, and like humans, it’s all about PRESENTATION - color, shape, size, accessibility, etc.
Visualize your garden as a food court, and each insect or bird having certain preferences. Notice the hummingbirds long bill and how fast they fly? They like tubular flowers and bright oranges and reds stand out to them from a mile away like Penstemon and Salvia. Bees are attracted to yellow and blue flowers they see easily. Because bees need to land on the flower, it has to be strong enough to hold them as well, like Poppies and Sunflowers. Butterflies like to visit flowers that they can walk all over and get many small meals at one stop-like the classic butterfly bush (Buddleja), Verbena and Lantana.
You can also encourage them to stay in your yard, rather than just visiting, by providing hiding spaces, water, and larval plants.
Visualize your garden as a food court, and each insect or bird having certain preferences. Notice the hummingbirds long bill and how fast they fly? They like tubular flowers and bright oranges and reds stand out to them from a mile away like Penstemon and Salvia. Bees are attracted to yellow and blue flowers they see easily. Because bees need to land on the flower, it has to be strong enough to hold them as well, like Poppies and Sunflowers. Butterflies like to visit flowers that they can walk all over and get many small meals at one stop-like the classic butterfly bush (Buddleja), Verbena and Lantana.
You can also encourage them to stay in your yard, rather than just visiting, by providing hiding spaces, water, and larval plants.
Jungle Jim
