SignalsAZ.com Prescott News Podcast - Favorite Flowers for Hummingbirds and Butterflies

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Send us a text and chime in!This week, Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener of Prescott, shares his favorite flowers for hummingbirds and butterflies. What are Milkweed's advantages to landscapes? What is a hummingbird's favorite flower? What is the best hanging plant to attract hummingbirds? Lisa and I sat in the front courtyard this week, watching the antics of 'our' hummingbirds. They were enjoying water from the fountains and sipping nectar from the 30+ pots of flowers. All the flower colors, sparkling water, and fresh air were compiled for a romantic getaway in our front yard. We enjoy one amazing, unexpected benefit: the birds are equally happy... For the written story, read here >> https://www.signalsaz.com/articles/favorite-flowers-for-hummingbirds-and-butterflies/Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Text to Speech audio articles made possible by Cast 11 Talking Glass Media. This week, Ken Lane, the mountain gardener of Prescott, shares his favorite flowers for hummingbirds and butterflies. What are milkweed's advantages to landscapes? What is a hummingbird's favorite flower? What is the best hanging plant to attract hummingbirds? Lisa and I sat in the front courtyard this week, watching the antics of our hummingbirds. They were enjoying water from the fountains and sipping nectar from the 30 plus pots of flowers. All the flower colors, sparkling water, and fresh air were compiled for a romantic getaway in our front yard. We enjoy one amazing, unexpected benefit. The birds are equally happy sharing the landscape with us.

Humming birds are the easiest to attract into the yard. We don't put up feeders, as we never want our birds to become an obnoxious burden, but we do have many flowers that bring in the birds. We have noticed that some flowers attract the hummers better than others. The same flowers also attract butterflies. If you enjoy birds and butterflies in the yard, try planting some Lane Casa favorites. Archangel Anglonia. Archangel Anglonia, summer snapdragon, large, vibrant flowers on this plant thrive in the summer heat. Blooms continuously, providing an extended season of color in garden borders or patio containers. Hummingbird friendly, yet deer and rabbit-resistant. Buzz magenta butterfly bush. Full size, graceful, tapering flowers cover the compact.

hip-high plant from summer through fall. Much easier to care for than the towering varieties our grandparents grew. Of course, they attract butterflies like nobody's business. Fuchsia There are many fuchsias at the garden center right now. They have one of the brightest flowers for a shade-loving plant. Blooms usually are pink, orange, and yellow and have a drooping habit at the stems end. Impatience

A popular cottage garden plant because of its long-lasting bloom in the shade. It flowers from spring all the way through to the first frost. Impatians have simple, five petal flowers that bloom in various colors, from blue, orange, pink, purple, white, and red. Impatians readily seed in the home garden. Monarch Promise Milk Week Monarche is butterfly's choice of place to lay their eggs. It's also a source of nectar through their migrations.

The contrast between the tiny blossoms of orange and red against the spiky variegated leaves makes this plant uniquely stunning. Partial shade encourages lusher leaves and blooms all summer. Looks great in containers. Mystic Salvia A superior plant for hot, dry slopes. Rugged enough for rock gardens, with requirements similar to those of Western natives, it is suitable for Zerescape or wild gardens in the driest climate. Stellar and large artistic pots. Havillina, deer, and rabbits leave this plant alone. Kellos Magenta Seloja. A few flowers are as show is silosia. Whether you plant the plume type, which produces striking upright spires, or the

crested type, which has a fascinating twisted form, you'll love using silosia in bouquets. Striking as centerpieces of any container garden, pollinators love them. Petunias. Petunias are a staple in local containers, hanging baskets, and window boxes because of their long-lasting blooms and various colors. The trumpet-shaped flowers are a dead giveaway for their ability to attract hummingbirds. Pink Sparkle Spirea. Beautiful pink flowers emerge in early summer and re-bloom in fall. As an added bonus, fall flowers appear down the stem, giving the appearance of an even fuller shrub. The leaves turn a beautiful burgundy in autumn. The perfectly rounded shape requires little pruning. Minimal maintenance, re-blooming flowers, and multi-season pink

color will make pink sparkler a favorite for butterfly gardens. Summer splash Nairumburgia. Flowers are profuse and almost look like they're made of paper. Reseeds easily and great for hot locations. Very easy to grow and are perfect for patio pots and baskets. Water, don't forget to provide water, especially for the hummingbirds. Our garden has a simple fountain that attracts the smaller birds to a bubbling waterfall. Larger birds seem to prefer the good-sized pond in the backyard. Birds need a reliable water source and are satisfied with a simple bird bath or saucer filled with an inch or so of water. I find that birds don't bathe often but love to rest on and sip at the edge of a water source. Until the next issue, I'll be helping gardens plant the perfect pollinator plants here at Waters Garden Center. This article was written by Ken Lane. He can be found throughout the week at Waters Garden Center, 1815 West Iron Springs Road in Prescott, or contacted through his website at watersgardencenter.com. Get more gardening tips from Waters Garden Center in the Mountain Gardener column on signalsaz.