By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Pickings can be lean for hummingbirds in winter: that's why most head far to the south. But if you live anywhere along the west coast from Vancouver to Mexico, you can help those that stay behind by growing plants that flower during the cool season. 

One of my favorites is strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), pictured below. Apart from its attractiveness to hummingbirds, it's attractive to me, with a combination of evergreen leaves, tiny white flowers, and yellow-to-red, edible fruits that you'll find growing together on the tree now. Native to Europe, this madrona relative usually grows 20 to 35 feet tall, with equal spread, but there's a compact form that tops out at about 8 ft.

Besides strawberry tree, other good winter-flowering hummingbird plants include a grassy perennial called crimson flag (Schizostylis coccinea); shrubby Camellia sasanqua, witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis), and Mahonia x media 'Charity'; and low, woody heaths (Erica).