The Hummingbirds Are Coming. Is Your Garden Ready?

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds typically arrive in the Philadelphia region between late April and mid-May. The males come first, scouting territory. The females follow. If your garden isn't ready when they arrive, they'll move on — and they may not come back.

I've been watching hummingbirds at 15 Hillside Road since 2012. The first year, we had one female. She found the Lonicera sempervirens — the native trumpet honeysuckle — climbing the fence along the back border, and she stayed. By the following summer, we had multiple individuals visiting daily. By 2014, we were watching them from inside the house through the window, hovering at the Agastache and the Cardinal Flower, the Verbena bonariensis threading through everything.

Here's what I've learned about getting them to come and stay:

Plant for the whole season. Hummingbirds need nectar from the moment they arrive in late April until they leave in September. That means early bloomers like Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and Coral Honeysuckle, mid-season anchors like Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and Royal Catchfly (Silene regia), and late-season fuel like Agastache and the annual Salvias — Black and Blue Salvia is extraordinary — to power the migration south.

Layer the planting. Hummingbirds feed at different heights. The tubular flowers of Lonicera sempervirens climb to eight feet. Cardinal Flower rises to four. Agastache fills the mid-layer. Cuphea hugs the ground. Give them options at every level and you'll see them working the garden from top to bottom.

Skip the red dye. If you use a feeder, plain white sugar and water is all they need. No red dye, no additives. Clean the feeder every two to three days in warm weather. But honestly — a well-planted native garden will outperform any feeder. The insects that live in your native plantings are the protein that hummingbirds need to raise their young. The nectar is the fuel. You need both.

The season is coming. Get the plants in now.