| A butterfly is attracted to a four nerve daisy. |
AUSTIN — Native gardens are a great way to attract birds and butterflies to your yard — as well as save money on your watering bills.
A favorite garden lure for hummingbirds is the red yucca plant (Hesperaloe parviflora), which is not only attractive but holds up well in hot, dry weather without irrigation.
Hummingbirds love tubular flowers. They hover to feed as they zip from bloom to bloom.
Hummingbirds also will snack from the cherry sage (Salvia greggii) and Hill Country penstemon (Penstemon triflorus). In shaded areas, they love the gold columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and Brazos penstemon (Penstemon tenuis).
Butterflies prefer flowers that provide a place to light while they unroll and sip with their long, tubular mouths. Native butterfly favorites include: four nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa ), coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), verbena (Verbena bipinnatifida) and Gregg’s mist flower (Eupatorium greggii).
These plants also can grow well in beds that receive no supplemental irrigation. In dry years, native plants may be a bit smaller than they are in wet years, but they do not die off like the non-native flowers when the weather turns dry.
A shallow bird bath also can attract winged visitors during the heat of the summer. You can make your own bird bath using a large glazed dish that is shallow enough so the water evaporates after a couple of days. If you have a deeper bird bath, be sure to change the water at least once a week to help keep mosquitoes from breeding. Adding a small recirculating pump to a deeper bird bath will create the sound of trickling water to attract songbirds.
 See previous gardening columns.
Elizabeth Drozda-Freeman is the conservation landscape specialist for the Lower Colorado River Authority. She can be reached at (512) 473-3200 Ext.2230 or elizabeth.drozda-freeman@lcra.org.
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