The Refreshing Feature That's Great For Attracting Hummingbirds To The Garden

When it comes to a warm afternoon on the patio, who wouldn't want a nice, refreshing mist to cool things off? Hummingbirds are no different. They love water, and are attracted to bird baths, sprinklers, and fountains. If you want hummingbirds to flock to your yard, install a mister on your patio or across your pergola.  

Why a mister? For starters, hummingbirds love water and they bathe — a lot. It's no wonder. Water helps keep them healthy. Bathing removes bacteria, washes away parasites, and keeps the birds' wings clean of dirt. This keeps them in better shape to fly and avoid predators. Hummingbirds beat their wings faster than any bird species, up to 80 beats a second. With their high metabolism, that means they can overheat on hot summer days quickly, and water helps cool them down. 

Bird baths are great for other birds, but the truth is that the average option is too deep for hummingbirds to use. So even if you made your own charming bird bath using an old tomato cage, chances are that your little hummingbirds won't be able to actually enjoy it. You're more likely to see them making do with the dew pooling on petals and leaves in the morning. Misters are fantastic for hummingbirds because they can save time while they keep clean, without worrying about the water being too deep. An added bonus, too, is that misters might attract small insects hummingbirds like to eat. 

Before you install your mister, let's talk about what a mister is — and isn't. A mister isn't a sprinkler. It will spray a fine mist and is designed to cool a patio, but it will not thoroughly water plants, which is one of the main uses of garden sprinklers. Misters use much less water than sprinklers, too, at less than 5 gallons an hour. Fearless hummingbirds will fly through sprinklers, too, but a sprinkler can have a harder spray, and a mister is likely to be gentler. 

To get started installing your mister, you'll need to decide where you want your mister, preferably with close access to a faucet. You should also think about a hummingbird's preferences. Hummingbirds are attracted to brightly colored flowers, so installing a mister near bold blossoms would be a good idea. They're more likely to fly through it if they're headed to a bloom buffet. You can attract hummingbirds to the garden with a purple flower they can't resist — the anise hyssop.

Don't forget that the mister will affect people as well as hummingbirds. Don't hang it at face height. The last thing you want to do is accidentally spray a guest in the eyes. Also, while a mister's fine droplets aren't likely to create a big puddle, they can make tile and other nonporous surfaces a little slippery, so just be aware of this when you install the system.