Several species of hummingbirds migrate from Mexico and South America to Colorado in the spring each year. They are especially attracted to red flowers. Adding red penstemon to your garden such as Penstemon barbatus is essential for hummingbirds! Penstemon barbatus has co-evolved with hummingbirds. The pollen is positioned in the red penstemon to slap the hummingbird on the top of the head, so when it enters the next flower on a different plant, the stigma in that flower gets a nice dose of pollen for effective pollination.
Photo by Dave Elin from a native garden in Morrison, Colorado.
Here are a couple interesting articles on the colors hummingbirds see, and providing habitat to our hummingbird pollinators.
https://www.princeton.edu/…/wild-hummingbirds-see-broad…
https://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/Guides/Hummingbird_Guide_CO-WY-SD.pdf
Carol English
Native Plant Master