The Unique Pink Flower That Will Send Hummingbirds Flocking To Your Yard

Backyard entertainment is always at the ready when you grow the right types of plants to attract birds. But when birdscaping to turn your yard and garden into a bird haven, don't forget to include some plantings for the speed demons of the bird world, hummingbirds. These tiny birds need more than just nectar from a feeder to make themselves at home in your yard. Pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii) attracts hummingbirds as well as other pollinators such as butterflies and bumble bees with its large, pink flowers, helping savvy gardeners create a wildlife wonderland.

With flowers that look similar to the blooms of snapdragons, pink turtlehead starts blooming at the end of summer and continues through the fall. These perennial plants, also known as Appalachian turtlehead, form spreading clumps that reach up to 4 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide. Native to the Appalachian mountains of the southeast US, tack this flower on to your list of perennial plants to add to your yard to attract birds — if you have the right growing conditions, that is.

This member of the plantain family that's related to snapdragons and foxglove grows well in different soil types including clay and loam. Conditions should stay fairly moist and the soil should contain plenty of organic matter to fuel this plant's growth. With clusters of turtle head shaped flowers, these woodland plants are even tolerant of wet conditions, so gardeners can grow them in rain gardens, in bogs, or next to streams or ponds.

Gardeners in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8 can add pink turtlehead to their yards to attract birds and other wildlife, and as the plant can prosper in a range of different sun exposures — full sun, part shade, or light shade — there's a bit of flexibility when it comes to location. If growing these perennials is part of your strategy to attract a more diverse variety of birds to your yard, consider growing other native plants as companion plants to turtlehead as well, such as jewelweed, cardinal flower, and Virginia bluebells.