By Lora Reynolds, Staff Writer
Add some colorful fun to your garden by creating a hummingbird spa. Hummingbirds appreciate a place to bathe, and can often be seen flying through the spray of a hose or sprinkler or fluffing their feathers as they take a bath in wet tree and plant leaves.
For this project, you can get as creative as you want, but the goal is to make a little oasis with a floating solar fountain, a place for birds to perch, and hummingbird-friendly plants nearby with tubular flowers that provide nectar, such as salvia and Red Yucca.
Begin with a tub or bucket or basin. I used an old enamel basin that is 24” long x 18” wide x 6.5” deep. Inside, I placed two upside down plastic flower pots that are 4.5” in diameter by 6.5” tall, and 5” in diameter by 7” tall. On top of the smaller flower pot, I placed a 7” blue and white enamel plate and on top of the larger flower pot, I placed a 10” blue and white enamel plate. Each plate has a few small river rocks on top for birds or insects to land on if they want to drink from the water that collects in the plates. I found a pack of three plastic water lilies to float on the surface of the water in the basin and add color and interest.
I ordered a $12 solar-powered fountain online that is a black plastic 6” disc with a very small pump underneath and tiny solar panels on top. The fountain floats on top of the water and has options for five different nozzles. In full sunlight, the spray begins automatically and the plume of water reaches 20”-24” high. At night, the fountain ceases to operate.
For a more natural look, you could surround the basin with stones. You could also place wooden dowels, small tree branches or plant support stakes in the ground next to the basin so birds have a place to perch as they approach it. The fountain needs full sunlight to operate continuously and you will lose water from evaporation and splashing, so position it in your yard where it’s easy to refill the basin and keep the water clean. Birds will feel vulnerable to predators if you don’t have shrubs or plants nearby that they can escape to if they feel threatened, so a spot in the garden surrounded by vegetation is preferable over a location in the middle of a lawn.
In addition to hummingbirds, you can expect dragonflies, butterflies, bees, songbirds, and other visitors to your water feature.