Bee-friendly balcony flowers: How to support insects

Bees, butterflies and bumblebees don't care whether you have a garden or just a small balcony. They are always happy to find bee-friendly plants with food for them, no matter where. You help the beneficial insects with these plants.

Why are bee-friendly balcony flowers important?

Insects such as honey and wild bees, bumblebees and butterflies are very important in nature. They fertilize crops and ensure a rich harvest, but are also important for species richness and ecological balance. By the way, so are the not so popular wasps.

However, these animals can often no longer find enough sources of food in their natural environment. This is particularly due to the large-scale monocultures, where only one variety is grown agriculturally. If this type of plant does not provide food for the bees, the entire area is unusable for them.

It is therefore important to support insects with additional food sources. And you can do so even if you don't have a large garden. Even on a balcony you can provide these insects with plenty of food in the form of bee-friendly flowers and their blossoms.

There is room for a few flowers and plants even on the smallest balcony! Get inspired by our creative ideas for vertical greenery or build a space-saving planter for the railing.
 

Why are bee-friendly balcony flowers important?

With the nectar and pollen in ornamental plants and herbs, for example, you can at least partially cover the animals' nutritional needs. Colorfully planted pots or richly blooming flowers in balcony boxes also help the insects to eat. They just have to be the right types of plants, because not all flowers, herbs and other balcony plants offer the same amount of food for bees, bumblebees and butterflies.

Unfortunately, the flowers that are particularly often found on the balcony are largely useless for bees: Geraniums and petunias bloom profusely throughout the summer. However, they are almost useless for the insects because they are not suitable sources of food. The same applies to plants with double flowers. They also offer the creatures hardly any pollen or nectar.
 

What kind of bee-friendly balcony flowers are there?

The real bee pastures, i.e. the plants that provide a lot of food for bees, bumblebees and butterflies, include these annual summer flowers:

• Sweet alyssum
• zinnia
• Fan flower
• Sutera cordata
• Mealycup sage
• Cherry pie flower
• Foxglove

If you like to sow plants yourself, these plants are suitable:

• Nasturtium
• Yellow marigolds
• Wildflower mixes

By the way, there is more space for bee-friendly balcony flowers in smaller areas such as the balcony if you also use the height of the space. With a vertical garden you can accommodate significantly more flowers. And a hanging garden also offers more space for flowering plants or herbs and thus food sources for the bees.

You can start planting bee-friendly balcony flowers quite early in the year. You can get started after the last frosts, in mid-May. So put on your gardening gloves and “set the table” for the useful but endangered animals by bringing bee-friendly plants to your balcony.

If you want to know more about when you should do what kind of work in the garden, you can find out the best times for all the important tasks in our Gardening Calendar.
 

Perennials and smaller shrubs are also very suitable as bee-friendly balcony plants. They have the advantage of being perennial. So you don't have to replant them every year. Balcony plants that bloom for a particularly long time are especially suitable as bee-friendly varieties. These include, among others, the following flowers:

Mallow shrub

• Sedum stonecrop
• Red coneflower
• Cranesbill

And you can also contribute to a bee-friendly balcony with herbs. You are providing a lot of food for insects when you plant these herbs :

• Lemon balm
• Sage
• Winter savory
• Thyme

If you have a narrow balcony or would like to cultivate your herbs indoors, we have instructions for a hanging herb rack. You can attach this to the wall, under the ceiling or on your balcony roof and thus have more space for your plants.

What else can you do for bees?

It is important that bees, bumblebees, butterflies and other insects find bee-friendly plants on your balcony, not just in the summer months. They are dependent on food sources from early spring onwards and continue to need plants that provide them with nectar or pollen well into the fall. Especially at the beginning and towards the end of the gardening year, many animals search in vain for food.

In addition to food, access to water is also important for insects; this is becoming increasingly difficult for the critters, especially in cities. For example, a mini pond that even fits on the balcony is nice to look at.

Do not pollute bee-friendly balcony flowers with chemical pesticides. If insects approach plants that have been treated with it, they can suffer significant injury and, in the worst case, even die.

Support bees and other insects in addition to the bee-friendly balcony flowers, for example with accommodation. For example, in a self-built insect hotel or a special wild bee hotel, the animals find safe shelter and an opportunity to overwinter. Butterflies are also happy about a butterfly house in which they can find shelter.