Bee Friendly Balconies

A guide to creating beautiful bee friendly balconies

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A Simple Guide for Supporting Pollinators in Small Spaces

You don’t need to have acres of space to create a beautiful outdoor area that supports bees and other pollinators. In today’s modern world, many of us are living in cities with limited outdoor space, but even these small spaces can have a huge impact when it comes to supporting bees, wildlife and the environment, as well as improving our mental health by creating calming natural spaces. Making your space work with nature, rather than against it, is rewarding both for you and for the environment, so this handy guide will show you which plants will be the most beneficial, and how to make them look beautiful all year round!

Survey your space

The first step to creating a beautiful bee friendly balcony is to survey your space. Think about how much sunlight your balcony gets every day – is it in full sun, part sun, shade or a mixture of sun and shade depending on the time of day. If you have a balcony above yours or tall buildings surrounding you, you may find your balcony will get direct sun in the morning, but not in the afternoon, or part of your balcony may be in the sun all day, while half remains in the shade.

Understanding how much sun your space gets is important for helping us choose which plants to pick, if you find the right plants for your space and sun levels, you can create a picture perfect balcony that supports bees for many months.

Picking Your Balcony Plants

As we’re working with balconies or terraces, we need to find plants that will thrive in plant pots. Not all plants will take to pots, and some varieties do better than others so keep an eye out for varieties that work well on containers and particularly those that like to have free draining soil, as these grow well in pots. We’re also looking for plants that don’t grow too large or too tall, as they’ll take up too much room or be easily broken in the wind on an exposed balcony. Make sure when buying your plant pots that they have drainage holes in the bottom to let any excess water out, otherwise the plant will get root rot.

Best Container Plants for Small Spaces

– Lavender – hardy and low maintenance with a lovely scent
– Campanula – will cascade over the sides of pots, creating a pretty cottage feel
– Lobelia – cascades, good for windowboxes, hanging baskets and pots
– Begonias – will grow in sun or part shade, petit pink flowers
– Hydrangeas – pick compact varieties like ‘Early Blue’ or ‘Miss Saori’ that won’t grow too large
– Dahlias – look for compact varieties like ‘Gallery Renoir’

If your dahlias or hydrangeas grow too large, not to worry! They make great cut flowers for bouquets, so you can pop any you need to prune into vases.

Full or Part Sun Balcony plants

– Lavender likes the sun but is hardy enough to live in part shade too.
– Campanula – will grow in full or part sun
– lobelia

Full Sun

– Dahlias – need full sun and a sheltered spot ideally
– Geranium

Shade Balcony Plants

– Hydrangeas
– begonias

Picking your pots

Find pots that work with your space and suit your style. Low level pots are great for windier spots, or baskets can work well for sheltered spaces. Don’t be afraid you use the height vertically too – when dealing with small spaces, you don’t want to take up all the floor space with pots, so think about tall standing shelf-like troughs that can utilise the vertical space and plant upwards. Add cascading flowers like campanula to vertical planters is a wonderful idea for adding colour and making full use of the raised planting space.

Bringing nature to your balcony is a great way to get back to nature, create a unique and relaxing space, as well as providing vital pollen and nectar to bees and butterflies. Many cities have large areas of buildings with green spaces being few and far between, so adding some bee friendly flowers into your balcony design will provide a vital haven for tired bees who are searching for green spaces. It’s extremely rewarding to cultivate a small space that not only looks beautiful, but is good for the environment too. So get stuck in and welcome nature onto your balcony, you won’t regret it!