Some shrubs a natural for attracting hummingbirds, butterflies
Beating around the bush … are hummingbird and butterfly wings. Here are three often overlooked native shrubs that are just the ticket for attracting more of these welcome winged creatures to your Midwest garden.
New Jersey tea blooms in July, with showy clusters of bright-white flowers that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.
Neil Diboll of Prairie Nursery in Westfield, Wis., fondly refers to New Jersey tea as "a McDonald's for hummingbirds." He says it's not the flowers but the tiny insects that pollinate the flowers that make the fast-food buffet for the hummers.
Almost any garden has enough room to accommodate this small, adaptable shrub. It grows only 2 to 4 feet tall and thrives in full sun or partial shade, in any well-drained soil. Despite its common name, the shrub is a native not only of the East Coast but of the Midwest, too, appearing in the wild from Canada to Texas, New Jersey to Nebraska.
Diboll says one of the reasons native plants are gaining so much popularity in recent years is that we're not just gardening for ourselves anymore. More people are interested in reestablishing a connection with nature, he says, and the natives attract more birds and butterflies.
Native plants tend to be easier to grow, too -- better able to survive the vagaries of our region's weather.
Clove-scented currant, which has clove-scented yellow flowers in spring, is another great native shrub that appeals to hummingbirds. Also known as buffalo currant, this shrub has handsome blue-green leaves that turn mahogany-red in autumn.
This shrub matures at 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. It thrives equally well in full sun or partial shade and is drought-tolerant and easy to grow in any well-drained soil.
Clove-scented currant is native from Minnesota to South Dakota, south through Arkansas and Texas.
Leadplant is one of the few native shrubs found intermingling with the wildflowers and grasses of the Great Plains. It shows off in June and July with purple bottle-brush flower spikes that contrast with its delicate-looking silver foliage. You could easily mistake the shrub, which grows 2 to 3 feet tall, for a perennial if you didn't notice its woody stems. Neither rabbits nor deer seem interested in chewing on leadplant, but butterflies flock to its blossoms.
Deep rooted and resistant to drought, leadplant will be there for the long haul once it's established. Grow it in full sun or light shade and in well-drained soil.