Flourishing life on balconies and terraces
Would you like to fill your balcony or your terrace with bustling life? That’s a great idea, as balconies that attract wildlife play an important role in promoting nature in cities. Even the tiniest balconies or even just windowsills can accommodate logs as nesting aids for insects or flowering plants to provide food for wild bees, beetles or butterflies. That way, you’d be creating habitat and flowered area at once.
Target species
Good to know
- Native flowering plants such as chives or grape hyacinth attract bees.
- These plants can share pots with vegetables, kitchen herbs, berry bushes, and fruit trees.
- Use peat-free soil! Our love for nature shouldn’t destroy swamps.
- One condition for insects to live in the nesting aids is the vicinity to nectar-rich, flowering plants.
- Ornamental plants and common balcony plants such as geraniums and petunias may have colourful flowers, but no nectar or pollen. Which is why they are not suitable for most species of insects.
- Please avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides! It’s much better to use natural fertilizer.
What does the City of Vienna do?
The City of Vienna - Environmental Protection department awards a prize to the most beautiful, bee-friendliest balconies and terraces:
