Give me color! The plea most often heard by landscape designers is easy to indulge. Blues from cerulean to cobalt; purples from royal to lilac; coral, magenta, cerise, and shell pinks; gold, pumpkin, or lemon yellow; greens from emerald to moss and silver—xeric plants can provide them all and then some.

Yet when we think of garden color, we often overlook the possibility of color on wings. The future of some plants ultimately depends on hummingbird, butterfly, and moth pollinators. These nectar drinkers are some of the easiest, most rewarding garden visitors to accommodate. Darting and dawdling among the flowers, they are a vibrant part of the summer color palette.

Hummingbirds roost on the edges of the tallest tree canopies, build their thimble-sized nests on stronger lower branches, and bathe in small basins of water. They power their hyper metabolisms with sweet nectar and insects, so these small wonders are gracious guests, pollinating flowers and skimming away whiteflies and aphids in exchange for the nectar they sip.

Butterflies use the foliage of certain trees and shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses to fuel the ravenous appetites of their larvae, and they use leaf cover to conceal their pupal chrysalises. They favor open prairies and the edges of shrub borders to warm themselves in the morning sun and dance among the flowers, harvesting sweet nectar. The edges of a pond may be alive with the flutter of butterflies puddling, gleaning moisture from damp soil.

Dragonflies are still another colorful bonus of water in the garden as they hover, change direction, and zigzag backwards, a blur of brilliant turquoise, rust, or cobalt snagging insect prey from the air. For a few drops of water, they rid the garden of pests and allow us a closer look at their brilliant body color and translucent wings as they rest at the very tips of slender blades of tall grasses.

 

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