I also just moved into a new house and am starting from scratch on my garden. I was also intereted in a hummingbird garden. I think everything I'm naming is hardy to zone 4. This is what I've planted so far: *Catawbiense Rhododdendron 'Bourseault' (closest I could find to the species plant, I got mine at Home Depot) *Aquilegia canadensis Wild Columbine *Campsis radicans Trumpet Creeper *Lonicera sempervirens Coral Honeysuckle *Aesculus pavia Red Buckeye (It is hardy to zone 4 even though the linked website says 6) *Spigelia marilandica Indian Pink *Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower *Monarda didyma Oswega Tea *Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline' Lilium michiganense Turk's Cap Lily (more known is *L. canadense) Liatris pycnostachya Prairie Blazing Star Silene virginica Fiery Campion Dicentra eximia Wild Bleeding Heart Astilbe 'Larissa' Crocosmia Montbretia 'Fire King' Phlox paniculata 'Tenor' Tricyrtis hirta Toad Lily Among others (I don't want to exhaust you!) The ones with stars are recommended as the top 10 hummingbird plants. The only one I don't have is spotted jewelweed, only because I think it is weedy looking. I see it growing naturally around here. The others are things I liked and read in various websites, catalogs or forums that people found to attract hummingbirds. I try to select species plants because they are thought to have more nectar than hybrids. Although the hybrids I planted, I planted because they are much easier to find! This website along with the link I entered, I found quite helpful. Copy and paste http://www.hummingbirds.net/attract.html I started a journal on daves garden. If you interested in looking at it let me know. Here is a link that might be useful: Top Ten

Hummingbirds don't require tubular flowers, but a lot of our native tubular flowers evolved that way specifically for hummingbird pollination. Their sticky tongues get more nectar from tubular flowers than flat ones. They also visit many flowers for the small insects they attract. But any flower rich in nectar is fair game.

Thanks for this post, Shilla. :) I hope your lovely photo will stimulate other people to post theirs. Your little guy is clear as day. And the monarda is beautiful. I have one feeder down on the patio that is being used by a male. It seems to belong to him, period. I see him there constantly, but never anyone else there, tho every so often someone buzzes him and he chases after them. Upstairs on the deck, it's almost constant chasing, swooping up into the air and then zooming off into the trees. Someone does get to eat at the feeders undisturbed every so often, but there's a lot more chasing around than feeding. So far, I've seen three at one time. Five at once was my very max last September. I'm hoping for more this year.

Remarkably colorful for "blackbirds." I have never been able to attract them to the house, but I did see my first Bullock's oriole of the season today at work!