Plant These Herbs With Rosemary To Fill Your Garden With Hummingbirds

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus or, as it was previously known, Rosmarinus officinalis) is something of a do-it-all plant. It's hardy and blooms not only in spring, but also winter. It's drought-tolerant and well-suited for hot weather, too. This easy-to-grow plant will add fragrance to your garden – it falls within the mint family, after all — while providing great ingredient options for cooking. Outside of the garden and kitchen, scientific research suggests that rosemary may even have anti-inflammatory, pain-killing, and antioxidant properties. 

But for many home gardeners, one of the best effects of planting rosemary is that hummingbirds love the nectar inside its flowers. Adding rosemary into your garden, along with other herbs known to attract hummingbirds, can quickly fill your outdoor space with these iridescent, jewel-hued critters. The trick, though, is to look for herbs that share similar needs and growing conditions.

Rosemary-compatible garden companions that'll encourage hummingbirds to stop by include borage, certain varieties of sage, marjoram, or even lavender, a herb that fills your garden with hummingbirds when planted next to rosemary. In addition to considering herbs that pair with rosemary, it's also a good idea to seek out options that meet hummingbirds' top criteria, like perennials with bloom times throughout the year and plants that provide sweet pollen and nectar for these feathered friends.

Add borage (Borago officinalis) into your garden, and you'll get more than just hummingbirds stopping by. This flowering plant, which also goes by the name "star flower," is a visual showstopper. It's also a favorite of pollinators of all kinds, which is why it's also earned the nicknames "bee bush" and "bee bread." Borage offers a frequently-replenished nectar supply that keeps hummingbirds and bees well-fed with plenty of sugar. As a result, you'll likely find that this particular plant gets significant traffic when it's added to your garden and its blooms appear in spring and summer. If you live in a warm climate and prune your borage regularly, you may find it continues to flower into early fall.

If you're already growing rosemary in your garden, borage makes an excellent companion plant. It's not picky; this star-flowered plant can handle full sun and partial shade, as well as dry soil. You can even grow borage pretty easily in nutritionally-poor soil, which alleviates the headache of fine-tuning your garden soil's pH. It might look more delicate than rosemary, but it can handle similar growing conditions (and it's even edible to an extent, like its fellow herb). It just might be even easier than rosemary to get growing, as borage is such an effective self-seeding plant that it can quickly go from thriving to invasive, potentially taking over your garden if you aren't careful.

Marjoram (Origanum majorana) and rosemary are a match made in heaven. To thrive, this herb needs to be planted alongside those with similar needs, making it an excellent companion herb for rosemary. Both native to the Middle East, the two share similar growing requirements such as light, well-draining soil and full sun. Moreover, marjoram releases chemicals that can actually help rosemary grow faster. With this combination, you'll be sure to see a flock of hummingbirds, who are attracted to marjoram thanks to its beautiful, nectar-rich flowers. Its tubular blooms are also ideal for hummingbirds, whose long bills fit perfectly inside.

Like rosemary, marjoram is low-maintenance and generally drought-tolerant once established. Marjoram only needs regular watering during the first weeks of planting, and, once established, you can simply bring out the watering can when the top layer of soil becomes dry. Ensure that you do not overdo it, since this herb is susceptible to water-logging. Rot and mildew also occur when soil is poorly drained, with this herb preferring a climate on the dryer side, much like rosemary. Accordingly, well-draining soil will help you recreate the arid conditions of these herbs' native Middle Eastern habitat. Soon enough, you'll start a hummingbird garden that smells great to boot.