Designing an effective hummingbird garden is pretty simple: just give them what they want and they'll come "humming"!

Seriously, it's not hard at all but it does take some planning!

First Things First: Know What Hummingbirds Like

Hummingbirds love flowers filled with nectar, fresh water for drinking/bathing and shade so they can perch and build their nest. (Don't overdue the shade thing though... they also need some sun!)

There are 2 specific trees that give hummingbirds what they need to build their tiny nest: Willows and Eucalyptus trees. Hummingbirds also like to use spider webs, moss and lichen for nest building.

Once your garden becomes home to a hummingbird they will become completely reliant on you for food!

They eat 3 to 5 times per hour, which means they need lots of nectar. Aside from maintaining blossoms in your garden (which you definitely need to do!) you should also hang some hummingbird feeders.

Important Tip on Feeders: Never use *anything* but sugar & water mixes in your feeders - that's 1 part sugar to 4 parts water - forget what some people say about food coloring or honey. (If you use honey a deadly fungus could develop and kill the birds!)

Of course you need to keep the feeders clean and filled at all times.

What Types Of Plants You Should Use In Your Hummingbird Garden

I'm going to share a variety of plants that hummingbirds absolutely love!

For perennials, you can get:

Bee balm, Butterfly weed, Columbine, Cosmos, Dahlia, Foxglove, Fuchsia, Geranium, Hollyhock and Red hot poker.

Or use the following annuals:

Mountain garland, Touch-me-not, Flowering tobacco, Nasturtium, Petunia, Spider flower and Zinnia

They also like some bulbs, and tubers like Tuberous Begonia, Gladiolus, Iris and Montbretia.

Of course there are vines, shrubs and trees that work great too!

Here's a list of trees and shrubs you can use:

Cardinal climber, Honeysuckle, Rosary vine, Trumpet vines, Azalea bush, Bottlebrush, butterfly bush, Eucalyptus, Flowering currant, Fuschia tree, Hibiscus, Lilac, Strawberry tree and the Weigela.

Why You Should *Never* Use Pesticides In Your Hummingbird Garden

It's common for hummingbirds to eat small insects for protein.

That being said, pesticides will not only kill these insects but your hummingbirds will ingest the chemical poisons... this could easily kill the birds you're trying to attract!

Common Hummingbird Garden Mistake: Avoid Using These Types Of Flowers

Lots of gardeners will plant sweet smelling, fragrant flowers thinking more hummingbirds will come.

Here's the thing: Hummingbirds have no sense of smell so don't waste your money!

What does attract them is high visibility (they rely on eye sight to detect food!) and nectar. I recommend using wild strains of flowers because they produce much more nectar than the cultivated hybrids that you get from a nursery.