Plant This Common Herb To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden ASAP

However large or small your patch of green might be, a garden's benefits are manifold. For one, simply having your own little place to bathe in sunshine and fresh air can feel like a luxury, whether you happen to be amid vast swaths of wildflowers in the countryside, or among potted tomato plants on a New York City fire escape. Speaking of food, a garden also lets you grow your own. It can even attract all manner of friendly wildlife. Some botanicals harvest all three benefits at once. Those bright days spent sowing rosemary in the breeze, for example, can keep you flush in the fragrant herb while also attracting darling hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds reside all across the United States, but it might have been a while since you've seen the petite avian marvels flying hither and thither at incredible angles. You may welcome a better chance at seeing their unique acrobatics, and rosemary happens to produce one of the bird's favorite nectars. Hummingbirds are migratory, however, so you cannot necessarily plant some rosemary and just watch them zip in. You should reference the most likely times the highest number of hummingbirds may be near you; The National Audubon Society offers interactive migration maps to better help you plan your possible sightings. The hummingbirds' visit and rosemary's prime nectar producing time might not fully overlap in your region, but this bit of arithmetic gives you the best chance.

Rosemary is a perennial. Once it's in the ground, a pot, or a window box, you can reap the rustic herb's benefits year after year. While rosemary's nectar is for the birds, you go for the green, needly leaves, and cooking with rosemary is a lot easier than preparing and serving it to birds. First, you can simply snip off a few new, healthy looking stems; just don't over-prune and leave the whole thing skimpy, or cut into the woodier stems, which might never grow back. 

You can rinse, dry, and use your rosemary in recipes right away. Rosemary is an excellent cocktail garnish thanks to its ability to stand up to strong spirits, such as bourbon and rye. A sprig in a Manhattan gives the tipple quite the savory twist. You can also use it to enliven all kinds of plates, such as butter-basted steak, or join it with sage and thyme to create the classic culinary trio. Rosemary is also easily dried and stored so you can keep enjoying it until the next hummingbird season — they'll just prefer something fresher.