Month: April 2009

Window boxes are a space saving and efficient way to attract way to help you entice the hummingbirds to visit your yard.  If this is the method you would like to use to draw them to yard, here are some tips that will help you be much more successful with this endeavor.

• These plants can be used in a window box: petunias, salvias, geraniums, dwarf marigolds, verbena and trailing ivy, begonias, fuchsias, impatiens, lobelia, dusty miller, and nasturtium.This is by no means a complete list but rather some suggestions for you to consider.
• Although a wide variety of flowers can be packed into a small area, window box plantings are more attractive to hummingbirds when tall background plants, low growing foreground plants and trailing plants are used. Plants of staggered heights and habits are simple to grow and maintain. Include plants with tube shaped blossoms, lots of color and an extended bloom season for the most appeal.
• The window box should be easily reached for weeding, watering, adding soil or changing plantings. Since window boxes are usually exposed to full sun, drying winds and the reflected heat of your house, they may require being watered once a day in the summer.
• It is possible to purchase ready made window boxes in a variety of inexpensive shapes, sizes and materials. Your best bet is to check out your local garden and home supply stores. Or, you can build the window box yourself from decay-resistant wood. These window boxes can either rest on a windowsill or be fastened to your house in a safe and permanent fashion. The boxes also must be properly supported from the bottom, have l/2-inch drain holes for every foot of box, and a layer of gravel in the bottom to keep lightweight potting soil from washing out.

I hope the use of window boxes is another method of gardening that you will consider using to attract the hummingbirds to your yard.  A window box is small and compact but it can still be a very effective tool to encourage the hummingbirds to visit you and then remain around for quite a while.  Happy gardening and birdwatching everyone!