It is estimated that one third of human food comes from plants that require pollinators to produce fruits and seeds. Thus, helping pollinators helps us all. Common pollinators include birds, bees, butterflies, moths, flies, and beetles. Around our gardens, hummingbirds are one of the most noticeable pollinators.

Additional Reading: Healthy Ways to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden

Providing food in the form of flowering plants (and avoiding pesticides) helps hummingbirds. Planting hummingbird-friendly plants is a fun way to attract these winged jewels, and is easier than the regular cleaning and refilling a hummingbird-feeder requires. Providing a variety of plants that bloom throughout the year is ideal, which we can easily do here in the Northwest.

Generally, hummingbirds are attracted to tubular-shaped flowers. They also see ultraviolet light that we cannot, so they perceive colors differently than we do. The following plants are proven hummingbird magnets:

Botanical Genus Common Name Plant Type Bloom Season
Abelia Abelia Shrub Spring to Frost
Abutilon Flowering Maple Annual Summer to Frost
Agastache Hummingbird Mint Perennial Summer
Amelanchier Serviceberry Small tree / Shrub Spring
Aquilegia Columbine Perennial Spring
Arbutus Madrone, Strawberry Tree Tree Summer – Fall
Arctostaphylos Manzanita, Kinnikinnik Shrub Winter – Spring
Campsis Trumpet Vine Vine Summer
Ceanothus California Lilac Shrub Spring – Summer
Crocosmia Montbretia Perennial Summer
Daphne Daphne Shrub Spring
Dicentra Bleeding Heart Perennial Spring
Fuchsia Fuchsia Shrub Spring to Frost
Lobelia Lobelia Perennial Summer – Fall
Lonicera Honeysuckle Vine Spring – Summer
Mahonia Mahonia Shrub Winter – Spring
Penstemon Beard Tongue Perennial Spring – Summer
Phaseolus coccineus Scarlet Runner Bean Annual Vine Summer
Phygelius Cape Fuchsia Shrubby Perennial Summer – Fall
Philadelphus Mock Orange Shrub Spring
Rhododendron Rhododendron Shrub Spring – Summer
Ribes Flowering Currant Shrub Spring
Salvia Sage Perennial Summer – Fall
Vaccinium ovatum Evergreen Huckleberry Shrub Spring – Summer
Vitex Chaste Tree Shrub Spring – Summer
Zauschneria California Fuchsia Perennial Summer – Fall