Enjoying a garden in motion

I have always been fascinated with hummingbirds. Their

entertaining flight patterns, beautiful colors and captivating

curiosity make them a welcome guest in my garden.

When I was 9 years old, I had my first hummingbird encounter. A

pair of hummingbirds built a nest in the tree outside my bedroom

window. The nest was tiny and perfectly round. The eggs looked like

little white pearls. The parents were so attentive and diligent about

family life.

I often wondered if they got tired: building a nest, hatching the

eggs, and teaching the babies how to fly. It was an around the clock

job. Sound familiar?

Years later, when I could create a garden of my own, adding plants

that would attract hummingbirds to my garden was a given. And, in

beckoning the hummingbirds, along came butterflies -- an added bonus.

So in my yard with the birds and the bees and the flowers and the

trees ... I have a garden in motion.

There is some methodology about including plants that attract

hummingbirds and butterflies. Hummingbirds eat about half their

weight every day in nectar and small insects. Butterflies also need

nectar plants for nourishment. It’s a natural combination that you

can easily create in your own backyard.

Adult butterflies are attracted to brightly-colored flowering

plants and shrubs. Many of these Southern California standards may

already be planted in your garden. Blue or white agapanthuses (lily

of the Nile) are hardy perennials that thrive in almost any

condition. Snapdragons are readily available in most nurseries and

are easy-to-grow. Other familiar and showy annuals like cosmos,

sunflowers and delphiniums attract flying friends.

Shrubs that guarantee visitors include Buddleja davidii, or more

commonly known as butterflybush. Buddleja are vigorous growers,

respond well in less than perfect conditions and offer long spikes of

purple or white flowers. Their foliage is a gray green that is a nice

addition to almost any garden scheme.

Buddleja bloom on new growth, so a dramatic pruning is necessary

every fall. Butterflies just can’t help dancing over the leaves and

landing on the long spires of flowers.

Hummingbirds are fairly simple to figure out. If it’s bright, they

like it, which explains why they’re willing to gather around a feeder

of red-tinted sugar water.

Hummingbirds like fuchsia, hibiscus, lantana and all citrus trees.

If you can plant these perennials, shrubs and trees near a window in

your house, you will be rewarded with a constant parade of airborne

beauties.

If you have enough patience, sit in your yard surrounded by

flowering plants. Chances are that you too will have a visitor.

Our youngest child, Mary Rose, has the uncanny ability to attract

all kinds of butterflies. She stands in the yard with her arms

outstretched and never fails to have a butterfly land on her. Maybe

it’s the name, maybe patience is the gift, but Mary Rose is our

ultimate magnet.

Her brother and sister think it’s because she’s weird enough to

stand in the garden perfectly still for long amounts of time. I think

it’s her affinity for anything creative. And there’s no doubt, she is

colorful enough in stature and personality to attract even the shyest

creature that flutters by.

She is my last reminder of the family of hummingbirds that lived

in the pink crape myrtle tree outside the window of my childhood

home. Only this time it’s my long hours of nesting, feeding and

nurturing that will teach her to not only fly, but also to stop and

enjoy the beauty of nature.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Sundays.