ATTRACTING WILDLIFE

Below are a few pond pictures, as well as some of the plants we've found to be useful attractants for butterflies and hummingbirds

This island of plantings outside the kitchen window provides plenty of food for butterflies and hummingbirds (20 August 2006)

Probably the most important bird attractant in the yard, our small pond also hosts mammals, butterflies, dragonflies and other aquatic insects, beetles, and other life forms. Its flexible liner extends under the beach area in the foreground where shallow water over gravel creates a popular spot for birds to bathe and drink.

A male Montezuma Quail takes a drink at the pond (25 July 2006).

Besides attracting a great diversity of birds, a few mammals come to our small wildlife pond. Here, a rather confiding Bobcat comes in for a late afternoon drink (16 May 2007) (Karen LeMay photo)

Bouvardia ternifolia, or Firecrackerbush, is a member of the coffee family (Rubiacea). This small, perennial shrub is native to our canyons (7 June 2006). Look at those tubes! What more could a hummingbird want?

"Desert Sunrise" a hybrid of Agastache cana and A. rupestris is arguably one of our most valuable plants. A long blooming perennial, it provides color, architectural quality, and loads of nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies 7 August 2006).

Prized for its architectural quality, Ocotillo is also an excellent source of nectar. Here a Scott's Oriole probes a cluster of buds (11 May 2007).

Although guilty of being generic, Zinnia (L) is showy and attracts many butterflies (10 August 2005); Verbena pulchella (30 August 2004) (R) grows quickly, needs little water and nearly all the butterflies nectar at it.

The statuesque Basketflower (10 August 2005) is a butterfly magnet but requires a fair amount of water. Try planting it in a bog garden.

The Passionflower (Passiflora caerulea) is a host (food) plant for caterpillars of the Gulf Fritillary (9 July 2004) (L); Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is a favorite of Broad-billed Hummingbirds (3 April 2005) (R).

Pomegranate blossoms are favored by hummingbirds (12 June 2004).

Later in the year. the Pomegranate's seeds are eaten by Verdins and various woodpeckers (20 December 2006)

Growing to at least five feet in height, this form of Cosmos provides a mass of colorful flowers and is useful for filling gaps in the garden. Two Queens feed in the foreground  (Karen LeMay photo) (26 September 2005).

Hummingbird Trumpet (Zauschneria arizonica) (above and below) is another fine hummingbird and butterfly plant with bright orange-red tubular blossoms (20 September 2006).

Creeping Lantana (Lantana montividensis) (1 July 2004) (L) and Vine Milkweed (Sarcostemma cynanchioides), a late summer blooming perennial (23 August 2005) (R). Both attract large and small butterflies.

Penstemon eatoni, or Firecracker Penstemon, provides early season nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies (25 February 2006).

Lantana (10 August 2005) (L) and the southwestern native Wooly Butterfly Bush (Buddleia marrubifolia) (9 July 2005) (R) provide color and butterfly nectar.

Echinacea is both showy and an excellent nectar plant for butterflies, bees and lycid beetles (2 July 2007).

Lindheimer or Velvet Leaf Senna (Senna lindheimeriana) is a showy, perennial shrub that needs little water. A host plant for Cloudless Sulphur and Sleepy Orange, it also provides nectar for other species (9 August 2006).

Blossoms of a Pineleaf Penstemon flutter in the breeze as a hummingbird feeds on them (19 May 2006 ) (K. Lemay photo).

Russian Sage (Perovskia) is large, showy, and provides food for many species of butterflies, as well as native bees and wasps (7 June 2006).

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), is a spectacular pond plant that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths such as this White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata) (20 September 2004) (Karen LeMay photo).

Catmint (10 April 2006) uses little water and attracts large numbers of blues and skippers (Karen LeMay photo). 

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Two Salvias that attract hummingbirds and hordes of butterflies are S. serpyllifolia (8 November 2005) (above) and S. grahami (8 November 2005) (below). In these pictures, dozens of Mexican Yellows and Sleepy Oranges are nectaring on each, as well as smaller numbers of Tailed Oranges and Gulf Fritillaries. Both produce more blooms with pruning and an occasional sip of water.