Sources of nectar as food
There are many plants that have nectar for butterflies, other insects, and birds.
If you look closely, you can see a hummingbird at the left of the cardinal flower lobelia, a beautiful native plant.
The hummingbird also loves these native honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) flowers. See the Berries page to see its beautiful fall berries. Be careful not to plant the non-native honeysuckles which can escape into our natural areas and become invasive!! Can you spot the hummingbird? It's at the southwest corner of the clusters of flowers in the middle.
In the early spring and fall, I put out a hummingbird feeder. For hummingbirds' health, it's important to thoroughly clean hummingbird feeders every few days - which is why I try to provide natural sources of nectar instead of nectar feeders in the summer.
The nectar is made by bringing to a boil one part sugar to four parts water. I find that 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cups water makes about the right amount - it's enough to change a few times, but not so much that it gets moldy in the refrigerator. Make sure you clean the feeder and change the nectar every few days - especially if the weather is warm or if the feeder is in the sun.
This hummer was last spotted on November 5. Although it was thrilling to see, it's rather sad since it seems unlikely that it will be able to make it to its winter home in Central America. For those hummers who do make it, though, remember to purchase shade-grown coffee so that their winter home will still be there when they arrive!
The flowers surrounding the feeder are Lady in Red salvia - a cultivar of a native salvia. This salvia is native to the southwest, not the northeast, but it doesn't seem to present a problem. It was still blooming in late October since we hadn't yet had a killing frost (even though we had an early snow.)
Here's Lady in Red salvia again - this time mixed in with the more common hybrid salvia bedding plant. I thought it was interesting that this butterfly (as well as bees etc.) chose to nectar at this variety and ignored the bedding salvia. Another case of hybrid plants not providing for wildlife as well as the native versions!
A red admiral drinking nectar from a coneflower
Yet another type of milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) known as butterfly weed, good for drought conditions
Here's a sphinx moth, sometimes called Hummingbird moth - or even confused as a hummingbird! He's getting nectar from the native beebalm.
Here's another variety of monarda. The bees and hummingbirds really like this. It's also very easy to grow. It's a member of the mint family.
Often called Summersweet or Sweet pepperbush, you can see some of the bees that flock to this for nectar. It also is fragrant.
Here's a stand of native Joe-pye weed. A great nectar plant, but also a good source of seed if you don't deadhead them. I think they're a handsome plant that look good at the back of the border like this. They're about 5-6 feet tall, but don't need staking.
Here's a close-up of joe pye weed.
Here's Goldstrum - Rudbeckia hirta - a good nectar plant.
Here are a variety of nectar plants. I have pictures of the coneflowers and monarda elsewhere, but there's also catnip in flower in this picture. This picture illustrates two points: first, is that it shows how closely you can plant things, and second, you can plant a diversity of plants together. Not only is there more biomass, but by planting things this closely, I don't really have a weed problem. By planting a diversity of plants, there is less of a target for harmful insects to find their target.
Solidago (commonly known as goldenrod) is also a great nectar plant - as well as seeds if you don't deadhead them. The Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida) below is one of my favorite goldenrods. It has velvety leaves and beautiful flat clusters of flowers at the top. The bees love it! Here are just a few, but they were always around this plant.
