I have always wanted to have a yard that would become a hummingbird and butterfly garden. But for years, we lived with a perfectly suburban yard that we inherited when we moved into our house.
When we finally rehabbed our backyard, I was super excited to be able choose colorful hummingbird flowers and beautiful butterfly garden plants.
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Hummingbird Habitat and Butterfly Garden Design
We got rid of an old, splintery deck and water-thirsty lawn. Also gone are a bunch of plants that were just plain old, tired and ugly, replaced by plants and flowers that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.
Since we live in California, we pay more for water in drought years so keeping things simple with the right perennials was important.
Thankfully, all of the hummingbird plants, butterfly garden flowers, and hummingbird vines we planted are drought tolerant which means they are easy to establish without needing a constant supply of water.
Since hummingbirds are territorial, we made sure to plant plenty of different hummingbird bushes, vines and other perennials so they wouldn’t have to share!
Best Plants For a Hummingbird Garden
Our backyard revamp included salvias for hummingbirds and butterflies and other drought-tolerant perennials. I love the mix of vibrant color these low water perennials bring to my garden. Low water, low maintenance and hummingbirds and butterflies…what more could you ask for?
We found many varieties of hummingbird sage (technically called Salvia) at our local nursery. These salvias for hummingbirds grow quickly, have different and interesting blooms and gorgeous colors that attract hummers and butterflies. These three salvia varieties are easy to find and have been super successful:
- Hot Lips (vibrant red)
- Black & Bloom (dark violet)
- Mexican Sage (light purple)
We also planted several varieties
- Butterfly bushes
- Milkweed
- Penstemon
- Yarrow
- Lavender
- Purple Coneflower (
echinacea ) - Trumpet Vine (often called hummingbird vine)
All of these are drought tolerant perennials so they don’t require much water once established, and the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees love them! We planted a butterfly bush and honey bees showed up –
I also planted some hanging baskets with fuschias, and multiple annuals like impatiens and petunias.
I’m happy to say that the hummingbirds and bees are loving my yard! Salvias for hummingbirds and butterflies are easy to find and easy to grow.
My Favorite Hummingbird Feeder
This is my favorite hummingbird feeder. It’s super easy to clean. have several of these feeders spaced around my yard. My hummingbirds don’t play well together so I like to give them more than one place to eat where they won’t have to share!
Tip: Keep those hummingbirds coming back with a full hummingbird feeder. Check out the my hummingbird nectar recipe at this post!
I have this blue glass feeder hanging outside my office window. It’s really quite pretty.
Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden Decor
You can bet that we spend a LOT of time out in our yard now!
I have had so much fun looking for cool, interesting and functional garden art to decorate this space. I really feel like our new yard is an extension of our home now.
We put in a firepit, strings of outdoor lights and a bunch of pretty garden decor. Do hummingbirds like mirrors? I’m not sure but I found a super cute garden mirror that I now have hanging on my fence.
I love having friends over for a barbeque or a glass of wine.
Gardening is Exhausting but Rewarding
We did most of the work ourselves. But we did hire a local company to come out and put in a paver patio. Whew! I’m glad that we are finally to the point where we can enjoy the yard instead of just toiling in it!
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