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Create a Butterfly and Hummer Pole Garden!

© Naomi Mathews

Spring is bursting out all over! The robins have returned, their bright red breasts a welcome sight as they all line up on our back fence, singing their cheerful melodies. They've already been scouting out nesting places, although our trees are still pretty barren of leaves. I've watched them listen while cocking an ear to the ground, then quickly pull a big juicy worm out of the garden, looking pretty smug about it.

Very soon now, jeweled hummingbirds and exquisite butterflies that migrated south last fall will make their long journey back to familiar territory. Both of these garden jewels will remember where they dined all last summer. Their remarkable, God-given instincts tell them exactly when and where to return each and every year.

Hummingbirds will seek for both nectar and a safe place to construct their Lilliputian nests. Nests so small and hidden that they're usually overlooked by most people. Two miniature eggs, not much bigger than a large kidney bean, will then be laid in the nests. Each proud hummer parent will carefully watch over her nest until her little ones hatch.

Butterflies will not only seek for nectar sources, but also for their host plants on which to lay their tiny eggs. Eggs which will soon hatch to become their next caterpillars, and another generation of iridescent butterflies will then take flight.

And so, this incredible cycle of Nature repeats itself yet another year. Are you ready for the return of these mystical, magical garden jewels?

If you are a devoted butterfly or hummingbird gardener, you probably already have at least one of their critical food sources ready and waiting. Nectar feeders can be placed outdoors in early spring to greet the arrival of those "early bird" hummers or butterflies. They will be more than satisfied with this source of nectar while waiting for the sweet nectar from your flower blossoms.

A creative way to attract flying flowers and hummers to your back yard

Are you interested in attracting flying flowers or hummers to your back yard, perhaps for the first time? If so, do you need ideas about how to create a nectar haven for them? To help you out, I've designed what I will call my Butterfly and Hummer Pole Garden.

If by chance you already have a fairly tall pole in your back yard (or your front yard!), with maybe a birdhouse or other favorite garden item on top of it, you have a great start! You can use the area around this existing pole for your pole garden -- if it's large enough. Or, do you have a bare spot you've just been dying to know what to do with? Creating your own colorful pole garden may just fill the bill!

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