The reason for using either newspaper or cadboard is to deprive any plants growing under that material from getting the sunlight they need for growth. Deprive them of that sunlight and they will die. If there is no growth, or if the mulch material is dense enough to do that then there is no need to use newspaper or cardboard. So if you put down a 6 inch layer of mulch that should deprive anything attempting to grow under it of sunlight. The primary reason for using newspaper or cardboard is to enable one to use less of the quite expensive mulch material then would other wise be necessary.

Yes you are correct, I was thinking about the whole yard at once, and this is just too much for my little mind to figure out. I have finished the book and the answer is not on the last page! I do think permaculture is more for bigger properties, than suburban lots. I do not have a zone 5, or a zone 3 or 4 for that matter. I guess I have a zone 1 near the house and everything else a zone 2. I figure if I won't want to drag the hose out that far, best to have a plant that can take care of itself. I have the veggie garden next to the house near the back door. I am also concentrating on my rain garden and keeping the trees in wood mulch. They look so much better since I mulched them up last summer. I think it is best for now to keep what I have healthy than to add a lot more plants that I can't keep healthy do to lack of time, water or mulch. I also took jekyll's advice and cut out to scale pieces of paper for future trees and shrubs. I also cut out future sizes of existing trees. This helps a lot in visualizing where trees are actually needed. I don't need as many new trees as I thought. Once the current ones fill out, I am pretty much all set. I do need shrubs though for wildlife perches and to shade off the tree trunks in hot Texas. I am going to in the future, get a few dwarf fruit trees for fun. I have selected apple, persimmon and fig. I may do annual papaya. It is too cold and wet in out falls and springs to bring them though winter. But I am not thinking about that now. I want to shrub up the current trees first and deck out my rain garden. The only thing in there now are some red cannas, and some Texas dandelions that I sowed last fall. The black eyed susan, the texas star hibiscus and the rain lilly seed that I planted last fall, did not come up. I will be receiving some rain lilly bulbs soon on a trade, to put on the not so wet edge of the rain garden. I will be putting basil and borage on the edge too. Come fall I will stick beets, rutabaga, and carrots on the edge of the edge. I have also planted cardinal climber on the hill coming up from the rain garden. They have not come up, so I may have to replant. I read to plant morning glories in winter so the seeds can crack and they will sprout. Maybe the cold weather that we have had lately have told them to not sprout yet. I think 1 or two are up though. I also have some blue eyed grass seed I think might work in there. Maybe I should wait to fall to plant them. I also would love to try some iris in there and then that is about all I have room for. This rain garden is a work in progress. It is mostly a canna garden now. The daffodils did even worse were I moved them too. Maybe texas is not the spot for daffodils.

kendra2 i was surprised to see that you are in MA and in zone 5 and have year round BB's. I am in SW Vermont in zone 4 (or 4B depending on where you look) and have been seeing BB's later and later each year and wondering what is going on as i thought they went south for winter. It is hard to tell from the posts what is happening because not everyone identifies where they are located and what zone they are in but it appears they will overwinter wherever they can. It seems unimaginable that BB's would overwinter in my region because it can go to -20 here at night and be in single digits for days at a time. Typically there is a stretch of 2 or more weeks in winter that don't exceed the teens. These temps are mitigated only slightly till one travels at least 75 air miles to Albany and the lower Hudson valley. Nevertheless, I have seen BB's later and later in the year on nice days until I eventually stopped seeing them in late November. This year I saw groups of BB's around the nest boxes on nice days several times in November and December. On Christmas eve I saw a pair perched near the house going into the snow to pick up something. This weekend is supposed to be in the high 40's and i kind of expect to see them again. So my question is: are they overwintering here or making "day trips" to their nesting grounds and why on earth would they be doing that in such a difficult environment when they could be in Carolina eating fresh fruit and bugs? Lou

Aside from all that lol, basically what everyone else said, many flowers work for hummers. Anything tubular with plenty of nectar is best but they can adapt to some others. Annuals: Zinnia (grow from seed), annual salvias, pentas, impatiens Perennials: Perennial salvias depending on region (Southeast= 'Black and Bloom' salvia & Salvia Amistad are favorites in my yard), Red Yucca, Penstemon/Beardtongue, Purple coneflower (wild type is best but cultivars White Swan, Cheyenne Spirit, & PowWow series are ok), coral bells, hosta, Agastache, Bee balm, columbines, Red hot poker, lilies (but only in addition to other plants) Shrubs: Butterfly bush, Firebush (zone 9+ only), Firespike (zone 8b+ only, not a shrub, herbaceous, but shrub sized), azaleas Small trees: Callistemon/Bottle brush (zone 9+, 'Woodlanders hardy' is zone 7+), Red Buckeye Vines: Trumpet honeysuckle (NOT invasive Japanese honeysuckle, the native kind)... possibly Trumpetvine and Crossvine but both can be aggressive Firebush is my (and my hummer's) absolute favorite btw and might be worth growing in a large container (low water needs) up North and overwintering by a window. Last tips: Minimize or eliminate pesticide use (a big part of hummingbird diets, and what their babies depend on especially, are small insects and spiders) and have feeders up by the time they arrive in spring when they're forming their territories. Hope that helps and I hope you get plenty of hummers next year, good luck!