Brighten Walkways & Borders With A Colorful Foliage Plant That Hummingbirds Love

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When you incorporate flowers that will transform your space into a hummingbird heaven, no spot in the borders and beds abutting walkways of your garden goes unused. If every inch is dedicated to creating a wildlife-friendly yard, you get to enjoy the playful antics of your favorite feathered visitors — hummingbirds — daily. However, when choosing the right plants to include in key spots in a pollinator garden, there are a few factors to consider, such as maintenance and appearance, especially because the plants are front-and-center in your carefully curated display. Fortunately, a large foamy bells cultivar called 'Alabama Sunrise' (x Heucherella 'Alabama Sunrise') is a show-stopper that both humans and hummingbirds appreciate.

'Alabama Sunrise' is a mostly tidy garden plant, growing up to 1½ feet tall and wide. From May to July, it produces dainty white flowers that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies. The plant also boasts color-changing foliage — depending on the season, it ranges from green to gold to orange with prominent red veins. Simply put, this plant checks all the boxes for anyone wanting to start a pollinator garden along walkways and in borders. 'Alabama Sunrise' grows well in these specific garden niches and adds visual appeal to a bed whether it's in bloom or not. Although the foliage on its own can help brighten a yard, you need to encourage abundant blooming with the right care if you're looking for smart ways to draw more hummingbirds into your garden.

All foamy bells are considered low-maintenance plants. They don't require much in the way of effort or inputs to thrive along a walkway or in a border. This means you can spend less time tending to your pollinator garden and more time watching the colorful hummingbirds that visit it. As a perennial, 'Alabama Sunrise' will return year after year in Zones 4 through 9.

When growing almost any flowering plant, sunlight exposure is one of the most important factors to get right. Without enough light, most flowering plants won't get the energy they need to produce the nectar-filled flowers that hummingbirds love in abundance. 'Alabama Sunrise' is a little different to most flowering plants. It prefers partial shade. However, it may still bloom in deep shade and can tolerate full sun.

Before deciding where to plant this pretty foamy bells cultivar, take stock of how much sunlight your walkway or garden bed border receives during the course of one day. Use this information to choose the best planting location. Most foamy bells are drought-tolerant, handling dry soil with ease. However, 'Alabama Sunrise' prefers rich, well-draining soil and likes more soil moisture than its parent. Just be sure not to overwater this plant — you risk waterlogged or, worse, rotten roots.