Hummingbirds Will Love Your Garden If You Add This Pretty Purple Plant

With around 16 species known to flutter about the United States, you definitely don't want to miss an opportunity to welcome a hummingbird to your yard. Add attractive color and vital nectar to your garden to encourage hummingbirds to stop by. With anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), this task is easier than ever. Anise hyssop, also known as hummingbird mint, combines gorgeous blooms and nectar-rich flowers in one perennial plant. A member of the mint family, anise hyssop has long-lasting blooms to keep hummingbirds visiting throughout the summer months. And while it tops the list of stunning plants that will attract hummingbirds to your garden, it brings bees, butterflies, and other pollinators around, too.

Anise hyssop's attractive, tubular flowers are the main attractant for all pollinators. Each flower is only a few inches in size and typically a pretty bluish-purple, although they might be white, mauve, peach, pink, or orange. These flowers grow on 3 to 6 inch long spikes in a crowded fashion, offering an attractive display of nectar for hummingbirds. The green leaves of this plant have a bold fragrance similar to licorice. This plant grows fairly tall, reaching 3 to 5 feet, and forms in clumps that spread from rhizomes.

Native to the midwest in the U.S., particularly prairie lands, anise hyssop thrives in full sun and can handle dry conditions. It is hardy in zones 3 to 8 and is disease and pest resistant. But make sure to maintain well-drained soil in the planting site to avoid root rot. Unlike some perennials, this species prefers only a little added nutrients and does not tolerate soil with rich organic matter. Although there are many species of anise hyssop in the genus Agastache, not all of them are commonly grown. This native species is ideal due to its adaptation to U.S. climate zones. Avoid one of the mistakes beginning gardeners make way too often and choose native, well-adjusted species like anise hyssop for your hummingbird garden.

Growing low-maintenance anise hyssop in your garden is a fun, simple way to bring more hummingbirds over to visit. To accommodate them even more, find the perfect place for a hummingbird swing in your yard to serve as a spot for them to rest after eating. Another tip to create the optimum pollinator garden is to grow anise hyssop alongside other hummingbird-attracting flowers. There are many species that enjoy full sun similar to anise hyssop, like butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa), prairie blazing-star (Liatris pycnostachya), and bee balm (Monarda didyma). These flowers can pair excellently with the growing conditions of anise hyssop.