Sorry you're feeling down, maybe this will help!!

I immediately thought of Columbine, my neighbor has gorgeous purple ones in full shade. They've multiplied and look better every year!! Christy :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Shade loving plants for hummingbirds

The hummers love my hosta bed. I would go check the hosta threads and ask if there are certain varieties the hummers prefer. Maybe the fragrant ones, or the ones with the taller purple scapes. I have about 25 varieties of hostas in my main hosta bed but have never paid attention to which hostas they seem to frequent more or less.
Annette

Thanks so much Christy and Annette. I have a few hostas, but have never noticed hummers at them.

I finally have some pictures (VERY PICTURE HEAVY) sorry:

PLEASE help me!!!!

Here they are with descriptions:

Please excuse any mess you see, my yard is a very slow work in progress...

A SouthEast View of my house and yard - (There is a large tree directly behind me and the camera that helps block a lot of the sun). If you look closer, I have dug up a large area along the whole deck for flowers. You can see it better in the next picture. NOTE: Please excuse the bad looking deck, it is in progress of being sanded and stained. I KNOW, that is a Crimson King Maple (non-native, it was here when we purchased the house). Every winter (a little at a time), I plant on limbing it up so more sun can get in). I just expanded my planting area under the tree (another Work In Progress) and just planted red and white impatiens (can't see them yet, just planted), also have a couple of hostas, a Jack Frost (my FAVORITE plant), some ground cover, birdbath, the trunk of a tree with fake rabbits sitting on top and a fake large mushroom in it. It is really beautiful, you just can't see it very well right now and plants have not filled out yet.
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This is a closeup view of in front of the deck where I want to put my Lady in Red and Coral Nymph (right there in that corner, it gets the most sun, but still not tons)
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My Lady in Red all planted in its whiskey barrel. I will be planting my Coral Nymph in a whiskey barrel too when I get paid in a few days.

This is the view of the house & yard from the opposite side above. There is a Tree directly behind me in this picture also (not fully grown yet). My house and this tree helps block the East Rising Sun but some early sun does get in.



Here is a little bed I was going to make, about 10x12. Sorry about the mess, I am trying to kill the grass and of course the ground will have to be evened out. I was going to put my hummer flowers here, but it surely does not get enough sun (a couple hours sun and some dappled). This picture is facing the right side of my fenced in VERY LARGE back yard (where the dogs and the squirrels hang out). Picture taken faces Southwesterly.
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This picture was taken off my front deck (looking out onto my two large conifers (Junipers) and my bird station. The area where the bird station is only gets dappled sunlight (extremely shady area)



Pictures of flowers I purchased, big letdown (almost). Coral Nymph, Salvia Splendens, Aquilegia Swan Lavender and Swan Red & White (the red and white is pink) Columbine Hybrids?. Apparently, even though listed on the back of the tags on these, they ARE NOT attractive to hummers I have learned, Yarrow Moonshine (just because I wanted it so badly because I love yellow flowers), but it is going to be a big letdown because I hear this absolutely needs full sun, and some Creeping Jenny (which I know I will find a place for).



Two hanging plants I purchased: Fuchsia (which later I learned will not attract hummers), because it is not a certain kind of Fuchsia, but I just love the colors on this plant and will buy it every year, it is just stunning in real life, much better than the picture taken......and Pansy's which I learned will also not attract hummers.

Again, please help me if you can....or maybe I will just plant all hostas in my yard......I like/love hostas just not everywhere :(

The fuschia will attract hummers....it is the color that attracts them!

It maybe the color (and this is not limited to red) that initially attracts hummers to a garden, but once there, they will seek out any nectar producing plant regardless of color. Generally, flowers that are tubular in shape are inclined to be nectar producers - the long tubes are nectar receptacles. Therefore, flowers like hostas, most columbine (less so those that are A. clematifolia, i.e. 'Nora Barlow', 'Black Barlow', etc. or similar), and many fuchsias are going to appeal to them and be a source of food. A lot of the tender, hanging basket type fuchsias have very complex, doubled flowers that have lost most of their tubular form (and nectar production) through breeding. Hummers won't spend much time at them but the simpler, trumpet type or ladies eardrops forms will keep them happy. Other plants that hummers visit and will grow well in partial shade include cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), coral bells (Heuchera sanguineum), phlox, daylilies and bee balm (Monarda spp.).

In my woodland garden, they also visit a variety of clematis, bleeding hearts (Dicentra), foxgloves (Digitalis) and begonias and impatiens planted as annuals. Because they are year round residents here, I have lots of off season bloomers to keep them happy, including hardy fuchsias (most have the preferred, simpler flower shape) and other flowering plants one wouldn't necessarily associate with high nectar content, like hellebores, witch hazel and winter hazel. They are also busy with clethra and fothergilla in season and both are quite shade tolerant hardy shrubs.

Do some research on hummingbird attracting plants. There's a zillion lists available online and the number of plants they are drawn to is really quite staggering - you should be able to find lots suitable for a semi-shaded location.

I understand your rant. When I bought my house, the backyard was smothered in mounds of bindweed (white morning glories) that had to go. Bindweed is invasive, but it was great habitat and the hummingbirds loved it. Ripping it out hurt for this reason. It has taken some time to get the hummingbirds back and happy.

I dont live in your climate, so some of the specific plants wonÂt work for you, but this is what happened as I focused on re-landscaping for hummers and other wildlife. Red doesnÂt work well for me either.

I think most of these, except perhaps salvia and maybe (IÂm not sure) catmint do OK in part shade. I would encourage "hardy fuchias" that are similar to species, but they are not hardy for you.

To my surprise, many of the best hummer plants in my yard arenÂt red, but instead are blue, purple or (sometimes) white. As long at they are tubular and have nectar. Some of these are salvia, cerinthe, columbine, catmint, blue or purple annual morning glories, dark blue annual larkspur (totally underused-selfseeding annual), delphiniums, flowering tobacco (heirloom types, some modern hybrids donÂt have nectar), hostas !! (as stated by others), and lilacs.

Basically, I used annuals like scarlett runner beans, larkspur and cerinthe to bring the hummers back while the permanent landscaping stuff had time to mature. It worked well, but it took time. Each year the number of hummers has increased.

ThenÂBad. NowÂWow. Two years ago I thought I had failed.

Some good plants for shaded areas are Aquilegia canadensis and Impatiens. Don't be afraid to utilize your native impatiens species as they are important nectar sources and will attract lots of hummers. Impatiens noli-tangere, glandulifera and capensis will all do well in bright shade.

Good luck

Mike

I do get hummers feeding on my hanging basket fuschia. Though not as much as other plants...

I have learned that hummers are "more" attracted to native plants, so if you get columbine (auilegia candensis) the straight species, no cultivar, it will attract hummers...I have seen hummers feeding on my columbine since last friday.

And another great hummingbird plant for shade is cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis), it prefers a moist soil, so if you locate it near a downspout, or water it a lot it should be fairly prolific and attract hummers too.

Another plant that I get tons of hummers on is purple coneflower. It can tolerate quite a bit of shade also.

I think unless you already have hummers in the area, it may take one or two growing seasons before they find your stuff.

Thank you so much for all of the replies. I purchased some Magnus Coneflower and the Native Columbine over the internet last nite. I also purchased three Bee Balm's in the color Raspberry Wine (real pretty pinky/red color) and one in Marshall's Delight (pink).

I am surprised they like Coneflowers and also that Coneflowers can do well with some shade. Thanks Joe!!

I also purchased locally three bleeding hearts, some dark purple Columbine (but it is not the native so I am sure hummers won't like it).

I do have a few hosta's already (just 3). I already had a Coral Bell (Plum Pudding) which I have had for two years and it didn't bloom this year. I have lilac in the back yard where the dogs live because it is not poisonous.

And of course I already purchased at my local Nursery Lady in Red and Coral Nymph.

I love John Clayton Honeysuckle but have no where to put it.

Thanks so much again to everyone!!!!!! Now I just have to make all of these plantings look georgeous wherever I put them. I am so picky :)

I bet the hummers will like the non-native columbines too. The key is to get them to come to you, which is easier to do with plants that they are instinctively familiar with... once they come to your yard, they will browse on almost anything there...