We've always looked forward to the return of hummingbirds in the spring at our house. Since the hanging baskets of petunias on our front porch have attracted some, we decided to dig out our feeders too.
For nectar, Kent always preferred this well-known homemade recipe instead of the red ready-to-use mix available in stores:
Hummingbird Food
4 cups water
1 cup granulated cane sugar
Bring water to a boil; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let mixture cool before pouring into feeder. Leftover mixture can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
I hadn't made this before today, but it was easy. Now, we just have to remember to clean and refill the feeders every two to five days. In the meantime though, hopefully we'll see some more of these small birds flit about our yard.