Published on: July 26, 2025

The Hummingbird Walk in the Driskill Children’s Discovery Garden is planted with both perennial plants and summer annual plants that attract hummingbirds.  Each year our horticulture staff plants some new plants to see how they will work in our Oklahoma summer as well as to see just how much hummingbirds like them! Enjoy this picture guide to help identify the plants in that area (click on pictures to enlarge).  Notes about plant growing as a perennial or annual are in relation to our location (USDA Zone 7a)

Be sure to also visit the ramped path that leads to the Tree Fort to look for hummingbirds visiting the Turks cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) with bright red blooms in late summer. 

Have questions or comments? We would love to hear them!

 Totally Tempted® Frosted Violets™ cuphea
Totally Tempted® Watermelon Wine™ cuphea
Brazilian red petunia – Petunia exsertal 
Agastache Kudos™ Yellow – Kudos™ Yellow Hummingbird Mint

  • Perennial 
  • Likes well drained soils, especially in winter
Aquilegia canadensis – columbine   
Canna ‘Robert Kemp’ – ‘Robert Kemp’ Heirloom Giant Canna

  • Perennial
Canna ‘Kreta’ – ‘Kreta’ Canna Lily

  • Perennial
  • Dwarf, grows 3-4′ tall
Canna ‘Omega’ – ‘Omega’ Canna Lily

  • Perennial
  • Grows 7-10 ft. tall
Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’ – ‘Jacob Cline’ beebalm

  • Perennial
Monarda didyma ‘Raspberry Wine’ – ‘Raspberry Wine’ beebalm 

  • Perennial 
Odontonema strictum – firespike   
Salvia x ‘Amante’  
Salvia ‘Amistad’ – Amistad Salvia

  • Annual 
 Rockin’® Deep Purple Salvia

  • Annual 
Salvia coccinea – Texas Sage

  • Annual, but reseeds readily
Salvia coccinea ‘Yucatan’

  • Gets 4-6′ tall. The tall height is great for hummingbirds!
  • Annual, but reseeds
Salvia darcyi – Darcy’s Mexican Sage

  • Perennial
Skyscraper™ Orange Salvia  
Skyscraper™ Dark Purple Salvia  
Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ – ‘Hot Lips’ Sage

  • Perennial
Salvia subrotunda – Hummingbird Salvia or Red Argentina Salvia

  • Annual
  • Flowers are shaped differently than S. coccinea 
Sinningia ‘Towering Inferno’   
Stachytarpheta ‘Nectarwand Red’ – Porterweed

  • Tender tropical 
  • Wait to plant it until the soil warms up (just like tomatoes). It does not like cold weather