Want to know why your hummingbird-friendly flower garden isn't working? It's probably because you haven't planted blazing star!
While there are dozens of blazing star species and cultivars, the plants appear on lots of hummingbird lists with just the common name "blazing star."
All blazing stars are Liatris. These natural perennials, found wild and cultivated across North America, feed and shelter many insects and birds, including the delicate hummingbird.
The flowers hold lots of sweet treats for nectar lovers — bees, butterflies, and birds — through the summer, and later, the seeds feed other hungry avians.
Red and hues on that spectrum, including orange, pink, and purple, are heralded as the colors you should add to the garden to help attract hummingbirds, though it's not entirely clear why.
If you live in a drier part of the U.S. and don't get much rain or have quick-draining soils, consider scaly blazing star (Liatris squarrosa).
Savanna or Eastern blazing star (Liatris scariosa) tolerates quite a bit more shade than most of its genera, though it does still prefer dry conditions.