Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to your backyard flower gardens is not hard, and our simple DIY will share which 7 beautiful plants to put into your yard to bring on the beautiful color show of nature!
This an Easy Gardening DIY to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. We share 7 beautiful plants to help you attract these glorious pollinators.
Butterflies and hummingbirds are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world, and you can add garden beds in your yard with beautiful plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Both hummingbirds and butterflies add magnificent color and life to any garden they visit!
Nothing is more beautiful than brilliantly colored butterflies or hummingbirds flitting among the flowers. Now let’s get busy planting those plants that will attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your yard and gardens because it is not hard to make this happen!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Want To Start Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies
You might wonder how to attract butterflies to your gardens and how to attract hummingbirds to your yard, and if it is even possible, but we assure you it is.
Like most, you will want to start understanding why to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden, as they are very beneficial, not just colorful. So to share that information, we will start with a quick overview of why you’ll want to attract hummingbirds to your yard and what a hummingbird is. And then, we will also discuss what a butterflies function is in your garden.
The key to gardening, plants, and enjoyment is striking a balance between those lovely creatures you will attract when you plant particular plants and what effect each has on the plantings. Your goal, of course, is attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard; our article is laser-focused on delivering that!
Indeed nature is a gift, and attracting hummingbirds and butterflies into your yard is a gift of color and opportunity.
Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Yard: What Are Hummingbirds?
A hummingbird is a small bird with iridescent feathers. They are native to the Americas and are the world’s smallest birds. One mystifying fact about hummingbirds is that they can fly backward and hover in mid-air, and their metabolism is crazy high.
Why Is A Hummingbird called A Hummingbird?
They are called hummingbirds because of their wings’ humming sound in flight.
Male hummingbirds are very aggressive and try to chase away other males entering their territory. Females are not as territorial and often build their nests close to other hummingbirds.
What Are Hummingbirds Attracted To?
Hummingbirds are attracted to brightly colored flowers. They are also attracted to the sweetness of nectar. When they visit a flower, they use their long beak to reach the nectar at the bottom of the flower, and they also eat insects, which they catch in mid-flight.
Hummingbirds are very important pollinators. As they feed on nectar, they spread pollen from one flower to another. This helps the flowers to reproduce. Hummingbirds are amazing creatures and are a joy to watch. They are also very important to the ecosystem.
So planting the right plants to attract hummingbirds to your yard is essential to inviting color and pollination, a big reward for your efforts.
Beyond Colorful | Why You Want To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden
One of a butterfly’s primary purposes in a backyard is to pollinate flowers. They do this by landing on the flower to drink nectar, and pollen sticks to their body while they are there.
Then, when they fly to the next flower, they spread the pollen, which helps the plant to create seeds.
Butterflies are also essential to the food chain, as bats, birds, and other animals eat them. While many think butterflies are flying flowers, they are crucial to pollination. Butterflies pollinate plants.
There are many species and many different wing colors and patterns: black, yellow, white, orange, red, and combinations of all of those colors as well.
Some butterflies even have iridescent wings that shimmer in the sun. No matter their color, butterflies will surely add beauty to your garden.
Attracting Butterflies to Your Backyard: Other Amazing ButterflyFacts
In addition to their beauty, butterflies are also amazing creatures.
- They can fly long distances, sometimes hundreds of miles, in their lifetime
- They have complex life cycles, metamorphosing from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly
- they have a keen sense of navigation, using the sun and other cues to orient themselves
Pollination: Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies To Your Garden
Butterflies and hummingbirds help pollinate flowers and other plants, and their vivid colors can add life to any outdoor space.
Not only are hummingbirds and butterflies a delight to the eye, but these creatures also play an essential role in pollinating plants.
Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to flowers for their nectar, a sugary liquid produced by the plants.
The birds and insects feed on the nectar, which transfers the pollen from the male to the female, an essential process for plants to reproduce.
You can turn your garden into a butterfly haven with some planning. By adding some of these beautiful creatures, you’ll not only make your garden more attractive, but you’ll also be helping to support a vital link in the food chain.
Some of the most popular flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds are red, pink, or purple. Examples include impatiens, petunias, and verbena.
But really, any flower that produces a lot of nectar will do the trick. If you want to attract these lovely creatures to your garden, plant plenty of flowers!
There are many different species of butterflies and hummingbirds, each with their preferences for food and habitat, so the key to attracting butterflies to your garden and hummingbirds to your yard is a variety of plantings, not just one.
7 Beautiful Plants To Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds
Choosing the right plants makes attracting various creatures to a single garden possible. What follows is learning which plants will provide you with the most significant colorful show and bring in those great pollinators.
Please note that the plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds listed are only a few of many possible plants you can use, these are just a few that have worked for me in my yard, but there are many other options.
Pro Tip: When you find a plant that will attract butterflies to your garden in your yard, attempt to plant it again the following year. Additionally, if you have plants to attract hummingbirds to your yard and have experienced their beauty, mark them down and plant them again. You’ve found winning combinations of plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, which is a big win!
1. Purple coneflowers are a beautiful plant that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
Purple coneflowers are beautiful plants attracting butterflies and hummingbirds and are no-fuss nectar-providing flowers perfect for butterflies and hummingbirds as pollinators.
They are easy to grow and provide nectar for these pollinators.
These flowers are native to North America and grow in various habitats. Purple coneflowers bloom from mid-summer to fall, and the flower heads are a rich source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Pro Gardening Tip:
The flowers of purple coneflowers are also attractive to other pollinators, such as bees and wasps.
2. American Beautyberry
American Beautyberries share gorgeous clusters of small bright purple berries attractive to birds and butterflies. The red color never fails to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
3. The Pink Precocious: Attract Butterflies
The Pink Precocious Attract is a perennial that blooms in May and June year after year, and it grows to be about two feet. This plant offers a stunning pink color that butterflies love and gravitate to.
4. Red Columbine For Attracting Hummingbirds
The Red Columbine ( Aquilegia canadensis ) is a beautiful red plant that attracts hummingbirds due to the nectar produced by the plant.
The plant has red flowers that are about 2 inches in diameter. The flowers have five petals, bloom in the spring and summer to about 2 feet tall, and the leaves of the plant are 3″ long. The Red Columbine is a bit particular and prefers to be grown in shady areas with moist soil.
5. Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies With The Yellow Trumpet Creeper
The Yellow Trumper Creeper is a beautiful yellow plant attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. This plant blooms in the summer and produces nectar that is appealing to both types of creatures.
The trumpet-shaped flowers make it easy for hummingbirds to feed, and the plant also provides shelter for them. Butterflies are also attracted to the nectar and brightly colored flowers.
6. The Passion Flower Attracts Both Hummingbirds and Butterflies
Attract butterflies and hummingbirds by planting the Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), a beautiful purple plant. Additionally, the Passionflower blooms are large and fragrant, making the plant easy to grow.
The Passionflower is a fast-growing vine reaching up to 20 feet long.
- The vine has thick, leathery leaves and fragrant flowers
- The flowers bloom from summer to fall
- The flowers are typically white or purple, and edible fruits follow them.
- Passion flowers are fairly easy to grow
- The vines can be grown in full sun or shade in well-drained soil.
- The Passion flower plants should be watered regularly, and you’ll see more flowers produced.
7. The Beautiful Bleeding Heart
The blooms of the bleeding heart attract butterflies and hummingbirds in early spring and continue to flower until early summer.
The flowers are bell-shaped and hang down from the plant on delicate stems. The leaves are heart-shaped, and the plant gets its name from how the flowers seem dripping blood.
The bleeding heart is native to North America and Asia and is a member of the genus Lamprocapnos.
The plant prefers shady areas and moist soil. It is a popular garden choice because it is so easy to care for and a beautiful plant.
Bonus Beautiful Plants To Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds
Do these five plants attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden, or do they attract butterflies or just hummingbirds?
What are these plants?
With each introduction, let’s look at these bonus plants to see if butterflies and hummingbirds will visit your yard.
- bee balm
- butterfly bush
- zinnias
- petunia
- impatiens
Is Bee Balm A Way To Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds to My Yard?
Absolutely! Bee balm is a flower known to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. The nectar in the flowers is a leading food source for both creatures. Bee balm is a flowering plant that bees use to make honey, and it attracts butterflies! If you think the bee balm leaves resemble mint leaves, you are right because bee balm is part of the mint family. Once introduced and established into your garden, butterflies, and hummingbirds often visit the bee balm plants. In addition to providing a food source, bee balm flowers are a source of beauty in the garden.
Do Butterfly Bushes Only Attract Butterflies?
Yes! A butterfly bush is a beautiful wildflower attracting butterflies, pollinators, and hummingbirds. The bell-shaped flowers come in various colors, including white, pink, purple, and blue. The bush can grow quite large, up to 6 feet tall, making it a great addition to any garden.
Butterfly bushes are indeed named appropriately, as they are among the top choices for nectar-seeking butterflies. While the blooms don’t last as long as some other flowers, they make up for it in popularity, as most butterflies will visit a butterfly bush at some point during the season. Both butterflies and hummingbirds love the butterfly bush flowers.
Do Zinnias Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies
YES! Zinnias share small, nectar-rich flowers, making them a favorite among hummingbirds and butterflies. In addition to being a food source, zinnias provide a place for these creatures to rest and escape from the hot sun.
Will Petunias Attract Butterflies or Hummingbirds to Your Garden?
Yes! While petunias may not be the most common nectar plant that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, they are still a species that does the job. The trumpet-shaped petunia flowers make these flying visitors an easy landing and feeding spot. They are also reasonably low to the ground, another plus for these creatures. So, if you want to add more variety to your hummingbird and butterfly garden, consider planting petunias!
Will Impatiens Plants Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds
Yes, Impatiens are a great way to bring on pollinators: butterflies and hummingbirds.
They are a popular choice for gardens and landscaping because they are easy to care for, and you can find them in many colors! Impatiens are annual plants, which means they only live for one growing season. You will want to see if they require more shade or sun to grow adequately. Impatiens are a bountiful, beautiful annual flower that brightens up any garden or home.
To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden Safesly Avoid This Misstep
Pesticides can be highly harmful to butterflies. While pesticides kill pests, they can also unintentionally kill butterflies and other beneficial insects. When butterflies come into contact with pesticides, it can damage their nervous system, leading to paralysis and death.
In addition, pesticides can be passed on to the butterflies’ larvae, causing them to die before they even have a chance to hatch. The best suggestion regarding pesticides is avoidance and finding natural solutions to rid pests from your garden.
Avoid using pesticides in your garden; choose plants that attract butterflies and provide them shelter, food, and places to lay their eggs.
Which Plants To Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds Will You Place In Your Garden?
Butterflies and hummingbirds are some of the most beautiful creatures on Earth.
They are also excellent pollinators and can help your garden in more ways than one.
By planting some of these flowers, you can attract these fantastic creatures to your yard and help make your garden even more beautiful. The beauty of a hummingbird or butterfly flitting about the flowers in your garden is a sight to behold. Hummingbirds and butterflies are important pollinators, and their presence in your garden will help to ensure a bountiful harvest.
I love hummingbirds and butterflies in my garden because they add color and life to my garden beds. Seeing both hummingbirds and butterflies in my garden is a reward I reap for my gardening efforts. As I see it, marveling at their incredible pollination work is genuinely a next-level gardening reward.
Make sure to come back and leave me a comment about what plants are attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in your yard. Dana XO
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