CHEESEBURGERS!
By Steve Brigham
PART ONE:
By Steve Brigham
PART ONE:
Although I'd love to take the credit for it, it wasn't me who coined the phrase. It was the notorious "Mark Twain of American Horticulture," Felder Rushing, who was visiting my garden last December just as I was beginning to plant our new Bird and Butterfly Garden. Felder knows a lot about bird and butterfly gardening. I was explaining to him that while I was planning on close to 700 types of plants to eventually be included in the new garden, I realized that some plants would be more popular with the hummingbirds and butterflies than others.
"Yep," Felder replied, "they always go for the Cheeseburgers!" And he's right -there are some plants whose flowers have richer nectar, and so the hummingbirds greatly prefer them. And there are certain flowers that butterflies just can't resist. If you really care about the quality of your bird and butterfly cuisine, you'll want to choose these "cheeseburgers" first to serve to your hungry winged guests. And even if you don't have many hummingbirds or butterflies in your garden right now, if you plant these plants you'll soon be seeing lots of new little friends!
"Yep," Felder replied, "they always go for the Cheeseburgers!" And he's right -there are some plants whose flowers have richer nectar, and so the hummingbirds greatly prefer them. And there are certain flowers that butterflies just can't resist. If you really care about the quality of your bird and butterfly cuisine, you'll want to choose these "cheeseburgers" first to serve to your hungry winged guests. And even if you don't have many hummingbirds or butterflies in your garden right now, if you plant these plants you'll soon be seeing lots of new little friends!
What's For Dinner?
In general, flowers that attract hummingbirds are not the same as flowers that attract butterflies. The reason for this is that while both types of creatures drink nectar from flowers, they do it in different ways. Hummingbirds hover, and specialize in long tubular flowers. Butterflies need a place to land in order to eat, and prefer small flat flowers that come in clusters. There are some flowers, however, that are "cheeseburgers" for both hummingbirds and butterflies, which is good news, particularly if you have a small garden with limited space.
Among the best of these "double-duty" plants are the various color forms of Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii and its hybrids). These fast-growing plants may either be kept shrubby by pruning or allowed to naturally develop into small multi-trunked trees. Blooming abundantly on new growth, they have long showy clusters of fragrant flowers that may be white, pink, gold, lavender, purple, or violet, depending on the variety grown, and there are even variegated varieties with colorful foliage.
For smaller spaces, the various flat-flowered Flowering Sages (Salvia cvs.) will also attract hummingbirds and butterflies alike. These include the many colorful forms and hybrids of Salvia microphylla and Salvia gregii, and also Salvia blepharophylla, giving you a choice of flower color that includes red, orange, pink, purple, lavender, yellow, and white on evergreen shrubby plants from 2 to 5 feet tall. In frost-free gardens, Star Clusters (Pentas lanceolata cvs.) are also a good choice - these 3-foot evergreen shrubs are adaptable to either sun or shade, and bloom all year long with showy clusters of bright red, pink, or white flowers.
For a nice evergreen background planting, other good plants for both hummingbirds and butterflies are the Sky Flowers (Duranta cvs.), with summertime sprays of fragrant flowers in blue, purple, or white and ornamental yellow berries as a bonus.
Among the best of these "double-duty" plants are the various color forms of Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii and its hybrids). These fast-growing plants may either be kept shrubby by pruning or allowed to naturally develop into small multi-trunked trees. Blooming abundantly on new growth, they have long showy clusters of fragrant flowers that may be white, pink, gold, lavender, purple, or violet, depending on the variety grown, and there are even variegated varieties with colorful foliage.
For smaller spaces, the various flat-flowered Flowering Sages (Salvia cvs.) will also attract hummingbirds and butterflies alike. These include the many colorful forms and hybrids of Salvia microphylla and Salvia gregii, and also Salvia blepharophylla, giving you a choice of flower color that includes red, orange, pink, purple, lavender, yellow, and white on evergreen shrubby plants from 2 to 5 feet tall. In frost-free gardens, Star Clusters (Pentas lanceolata cvs.) are also a good choice - these 3-foot evergreen shrubs are adaptable to either sun or shade, and bloom all year long with showy clusters of bright red, pink, or white flowers.
For a nice evergreen background planting, other good plants for both hummingbirds and butterflies are the Sky Flowers (Duranta cvs.), with summertime sprays of fragrant flowers in blue, purple, or white and ornamental yellow berries as a bonus.
More Plants For Hummingbirds
Our hummingbirds are very inquisitive and adventurous creatures. Sometimes it seems that they will visit almost any kind of flower, and in fact the list of all hummingbird flowers we can grow is a long one. But if hummingbirds were plant collectors in San Diego County, they'd love to specialize in certain groups. Interestingly enough, they're all my favorite plant groups, and probably yours, too!
Tops on this list of "cheeseburgers" are the Flowering Sages (Salvia cvs.). This one group alone gives you about a thousand different plant choices, including ground covers, perennials, and shrubs with many different foliage and flower colors. Hummingbirds particularly love red-flowered salvias (their favorite color is red), but they also go nuts over the blue-flowered Salvia guaranitica, the purple-flowered Salvia leucantha and its hybrids, and of course our native lavender-blue-flowered Salvia clevelandii and its hybrids, just to name a few.
Tops on this list of "cheeseburgers" are the Flowering Sages (Salvia cvs.). This one group alone gives you about a thousand different plant choices, including ground covers, perennials, and shrubs with many different foliage and flower colors. Hummingbirds particularly love red-flowered salvias (their favorite color is red), but they also go nuts over the blue-flowered Salvia guaranitica, the purple-flowered Salvia leucantha and its hybrids, and of course our native lavender-blue-flowered Salvia clevelandii and its hybrids, just to name a few.
It's no secret that so many of the flowers that hummingbirds like best are the same ones that hummingbirds naturally pollinate in the wild. Since hummingbirds are native in both North and South America, these include the very showy Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria cvs.). Although different species of hummingbirds pollinate wild alstroemerias in their native South America, our hummingbirds like 'em, too. Here's an example of a great garden plant that can do many things at once, providing superior garden color and unsurpassed cut-flower material while making the hummingbirds very happy at the same time!
Another important group of hummingbird plants from North American parentage are the many species and hybrids of Penstemon. The modern "gloxinioides" hybrid penstemons in particular are very floriferous and easy to grow, with a wide range of colors including whites, blues, pinks, reds, purples, and many bicolored varieties as well. All also make excellent cut-flowers.
All of the plants I've mentioned in this column are fast-growing plants that don't need much maintenance and don't use much water. Gallon-size plants I planted just 5 months ago in our new garden are nearly fully grown now and full of flowers! The list of these plants is in part two. So as Felder Rushing might say (he's from Mississippi), "See y'all then!"
Another important group of hummingbird plants from North American parentage are the many species and hybrids of Penstemon. The modern "gloxinioides" hybrid penstemons in particular are very floriferous and easy to grow, with a wide range of colors including whites, blues, pinks, reds, purples, and many bicolored varieties as well. All also make excellent cut-flowers.
All of the plants I've mentioned in this column are fast-growing plants that don't need much maintenance and don't use much water. Gallon-size plants I planted just 5 months ago in our new garden are nearly fully grown now and full of flowers! The list of these plants is in part two. So as Felder Rushing might say (he's from Mississippi), "See y'all then!"
PART TWO:
In the immortal words of Felder Rushing, no matter how many kinds of hummingbird and butterfly plants you plant, "they always go for the Cheeseburgers!" Meaning that there are some flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies just like better than others. Last month in this column, we took a look at some of the "whoppers" that serve as "cheeseburgers" for both hummingbirds and butterflies. But in general, hummingbirds and butterflies like different flowers. This month, we'll look at my own "Top 20" lists of plants for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Each group mentioned in these lists contains many different choices, all of which are beautiful and showy garden plants in their own right. Look these groups up in your Sunset Western Garden Book to get an idea of the full range of species and cultivars available.
"Top 20" Hummingbird Favorites
Hummingbirds love tubular flowers, and they also love orange and red. Although hummingbirds are native only in North and South America, they also enjoy many kinds of flowers that are native to other places in the world. Sometimes it seems that hummingbirds will go for nearly any flower, and indeed the list of all hummingbird flowers is a long one. Listed alphabetically, here are some of their favorite groups that we can grow in San Diego.
Aloe (aloes)
Alstroemeria (Peruvian lilies)
Asclepias (milkweeds)
Buddleja (butterfly bushes)
Callistemon (bottlebrushes)
Cuphea (firecracker flowers)
Duranta (sky flowers)
Erythrina (coral trees)
Fuchsia (fuchsias)
Grevillea (grevilleas)
Heuchera (coral bells)
Iochroma (iochromas)
Kniphofia (torch lilies)
Leonotis (lion's tails)
Lobelia laxiflora (Mexican lobelia)
Penstemon (penstemons)
Pentas (star clusters)
Salvia (flowering sages)
Verbena (verbenas)
Zauschneria (California fuchsias)
"Top 20" Butterfly Favorites
Butterflies love big clusters of small flat flowers that provide both nectar and a convenient place to land. They also need plants to act as food plants for their caterpillars. Although many different kinds of butterflies visit the flowers of the plant groups below, the larvae plants each have specific types of butterflies whose caterpillars feed on them. Listed alphabetically, here are some of the best butterfly plant groups that are also great garden plants here in San Diego (larvae plants are marked with an asterisk).
Achillea (yarrows)
Asclepias (milkweeds) *
Buddleja (butterfly bushes)
Centranthus ruber (Jupiter's beard)
Chrysanthemum maximum (shasta daisies)
Coreopsis (coreopsis)
Duranta (sky flowers)
Echinacea purpurea (coneflowers)
Foeniculum vulgare (fennels) *
Gaura lindheimeri (butterfly flowers)
Heliotropium arborescens (heliotropes)
Lantana (lantanas)
Passiflora (passionflowers) *
Pentas lanceolata (star clusters)
Rudbeckia (gloriosa daisies)
Salvia (flat-flowered types) (flowering sages)
Scabiosa (pincushion flowers)
Tagetes (marigolds)
Tithonia (mexican sunflowers)
Verbena (verbenas)
Winged Friends at the Dinner Table
Yes, folks, if you plant these "cheeseburgers," you'll be pleasantly surprised at the many winged friends that will show up at your garden dinner table! You'll also notice that your garden looks pretty good, too!
"Top 20" Hummingbird Favorites
Hummingbirds love tubular flowers, and they also love orange and red. Although hummingbirds are native only in North and South America, they also enjoy many kinds of flowers that are native to other places in the world. Sometimes it seems that hummingbirds will go for nearly any flower, and indeed the list of all hummingbird flowers is a long one. Listed alphabetically, here are some of their favorite groups that we can grow in San Diego.
Aloe (aloes)
Alstroemeria (Peruvian lilies)
Asclepias (milkweeds)
Buddleja (butterfly bushes)
Callistemon (bottlebrushes)
Cuphea (firecracker flowers)
Duranta (sky flowers)
Erythrina (coral trees)
Fuchsia (fuchsias)
Grevillea (grevilleas)
Heuchera (coral bells)
Iochroma (iochromas)
Kniphofia (torch lilies)
Leonotis (lion's tails)
Lobelia laxiflora (Mexican lobelia)
Penstemon (penstemons)
Pentas (star clusters)
Salvia (flowering sages)
Verbena (verbenas)
Zauschneria (California fuchsias)
"Top 20" Butterfly Favorites
Butterflies love big clusters of small flat flowers that provide both nectar and a convenient place to land. They also need plants to act as food plants for their caterpillars. Although many different kinds of butterflies visit the flowers of the plant groups below, the larvae plants each have specific types of butterflies whose caterpillars feed on them. Listed alphabetically, here are some of the best butterfly plant groups that are also great garden plants here in San Diego (larvae plants are marked with an asterisk).
Achillea (yarrows)
Asclepias (milkweeds) *
Buddleja (butterfly bushes)
Centranthus ruber (Jupiter's beard)
Chrysanthemum maximum (shasta daisies)
Coreopsis (coreopsis)
Duranta (sky flowers)
Echinacea purpurea (coneflowers)
Foeniculum vulgare (fennels) *
Gaura lindheimeri (butterfly flowers)
Heliotropium arborescens (heliotropes)
Lantana (lantanas)
Passiflora (passionflowers) *
Pentas lanceolata (star clusters)
Rudbeckia (gloriosa daisies)
Salvia (flat-flowered types) (flowering sages)
Scabiosa (pincushion flowers)
Tagetes (marigolds)
Tithonia (mexican sunflowers)
Verbena (verbenas)
Winged Friends at the Dinner Table
Yes, folks, if you plant these "cheeseburgers," you'll be pleasantly surprised at the many winged friends that will show up at your garden dinner table! You'll also notice that your garden looks pretty good, too!
