Hummingbird Garden

As I’m beginning to think about planting a garden for this summer, I’m considering two factors—how to plant for drought conditions and how to attract hummingbirds. Luckily, my two desires intersect, because drought-tolerant plants are often beneficial to wildlife. So, what can I plant here in northeastern Colorado, which is a semi-arid climate? In an article on the Hummingbird Garden in Colorado Springs, the director of the garden recommends Bee balm (Monarda), California fuchsia (Zauschneria californica), Cardinal flower (Lobelia), Catmint (Nepeta), Columbine (Aquilegia), Delphinium (Delphinium), Firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii), Pineleaf penstemon (Penstemon pinifolious), Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), Garden phlox (Phlox), Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja integra), Maltese cross (Lychnis), Salvia (Salvia), Spider flower (Cleome), Sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris). It’s my understanding that all of these are drought tolerant, with the exception of the Delphinium.

While I was thinking about hummingbirds, I received an email from Audubon, asking for participation in a citizen-scientist hummingbird study. This project couldn’t be better suited for the urban naturalist. You can sit in your chair with your morning coffee or tea and gather information for this study that helps hummingbirds. There’s even a smart phone app that you can use to enter your data.

Hummingbirds have such high metabolisms that they can starve to death within hours. So, I decided to buy a hummingbird feeder. I purchased one on Saturday as a birthday present for myself, and now we’re having a blizzard.