Home › Guides · Updated 21 October 2026

A pollinator-friendly balcony: what to plant in pots for bees and other insects

How to turn a balcony, window box or small patio into food for bees and hoverflies: RHS-recommended plants for sunny and shady containers, why single flowers matter, and simple habitat tips for small urban spaces.

You don't need a garden to help pollinators. A balcony, a window box or a few pots by a front door can provide valuable food for bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths in a city. The RHS notes that wild bees and other pollinators are in decline, and planting the right garden flowers is one of the ways gardeners can help. This guide pulls together the RHS's advice for small, container-based spaces.

The golden rule: single, simple flowers

The single most useful choice is the shape of the flower. The RHS advises choosing simple, open flowers with a single layer of petals rather than complex double blooms, to maximise the pollen and nectar insects can reach. Its Plants for Pollinators list excludes most doubles for that reason.

The RHS's bumblebee planter guide gives an easy test: if you can see the yellow, pollen-filled centre of the flower, the bees will be able to use it too. Look for the RHS Plants for Pollinators logo on plant labels when you shop.

What to grow in sunny containers

Most pollinators prefer sun. For sunny pots, the RHS's container habitats guide suggests:

• herbs, especially marjoram and chives, and lavender, which are useful in the kitchen as well;
• single-flowered English marigolds;
• Californian poppies;
• snapdragons;
• heliotrope;
• single-flowered dahlias, such as the 'Mignon Series';
• single-flowered zinnias, such as the 'Profusion Series'.

For a simple three-plant planter, the RHS bumblebee guide recommends snapdragon, cosmos and nasturtium, choosing single-flowered cosmos. Nasturtiums are easy to grow from seed pushed about 1cm into the compost. Our guide to growing herbs in small spaces covers getting started with the herb side.

What to grow in shade

North-facing balconies and shady courtyards can still help. The RHS lists these for shady containers:

• begonia
• bugle (Ajuga)
• fuchsia
• heuchera
• hosta
• ivy, which flowers late in the year when little else does

Hanging baskets and window boxes

Baskets and boxes make the most of vertical space. For baskets, the RHS suggests aubrietia, bidens, calibrachoa, nasturtium, creeping zinnia, bird's foot trefoil and ivy, and even a trailing tomato such as 'Tumbler'. For window boxes, it recommends heathers, candytuft or lavender depending on the season, or thymes, osteospermum and zinnias on a sunny wall, noting that even a high-rise window box can be an oasis.

Exposed, windy balconies

Higher balconies can be windy and dry. The RHS's guide to balconies and roof gardens recommends drought- and wind-tolerant plants, and highlights sedums and lavenders as pollinator-friendly choices that thrive in these conditions. Grasses cope well with wind, and houseleeks (sempervivums) suit the smallest, harshest spots. A bonus of gardening up high, the RHS notes, is fewer slugs and snails.

For more on handling sun, wind and shelter, see our guide to balcony microclimates.

Food for you and the bees

Edible plants can do double duty. Herbs such as chives, marjoram and thyme, which the RHS recommends for sunny containers and window boxes, produce flowers that bees visit, as long as you let some of them bloom. Harvest leaves from part of the plant and leave the rest to flower. Nasturtiums give you edible leaves and flowers while feeding bumblebees, and a trailing tomato in a hanging basket, which the RHS also suggests, flowers before it fruits.

A practical approach on a small balcony is to keep one pot of each herb for cutting and a second pot that you allow to flower. That way you never have to choose between your cooking and the insects.

Safety on balconies and window ledges

Containers high up need to be secure. Fix window boxes with brackets designed for the weight of wet compost, keep pots inside the balcony line rather than on the outer edge of railings, and check any rules in your lease or tenancy about what you can attach to the building. Saucers under pots stop water dripping onto neighbours below.

Aim for flowers across the seasons

Pollinators need food from early spring to late autumn, not just in midsummer. The RHS recommends growing a range of plants for year-round flowering. In containers you can do this by:

• planting spring bulbs such as crocus and grape hyacinths, which the RHS suggests for stacked pots;
• following with summer annuals and herbs such as snapdragons, cosmos and marjoram;
• finishing with late flowers such as sedums, ivy and heathers.

More than flowers: water and shelter

The RHS's quick tips for helping pollinators include more than planting:

• Avoid pesticides in your outdoor space. The RHS's plant list adds: never use pesticides on plants in flower. Our organic pest guide covers alternatives.
• Provide water, such as a shallow saucer of frequently changed water with pebbles placed in it so insects can land safely.
• Provide nest sites for wild bees. On a balcony, a sunny pot of bare, sandy compost can attract ground-nesting solitary bees.

Containers themselves create habitat. The RHS explains that grouped pots add cool, damp spots in and under them where springtails, earthworms and other invertebrates can survive, while the flowers draw in bees and hoverflies.

Practical container tips

• Use peat-free compost; our guide to peat-free compost for pots explains how to get the best from it.
• Group pots together: they shelter each other, dry out more slowly and make a bigger target for foraging insects.
• Choose larger pots where weight allows, and check your balcony's load limits; the RHS suggests placing heavy containers near load-bearing walls.
• Deadhead regularly to keep annuals flowering for longer.
• Water containers regularly in summer; pots dry out much faster than garden soil.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying only for colour. Many showy bedding plants are doubles with little pollen or nectar. Check the flower centre is visible, or look for the RHS Plants for Pollinators logo.
• A single summer burst. A balcony that flowers only in July leaves insects with nothing in spring and autumn. Plan bulbs and late flowers as well.
• Spraying at the wrong time. If you must deal with pests, avoid treating plants in flower; the RHS advises never using pesticides on flowering plants.
• Tidying too much. Leaving some seed heads and hollow stems over winter can give insects shelter.
• Letting pots dry out. Stressed, wilting plants produce fewer flowers and less nectar.

Starter shopping list for a sunny balcony

• One large trough: lavender, marjoram and thyme.
• One pot: single-flowered cosmos with nasturtiums trailing over the edge.
• One pot: snapdragons with single marigolds.
• Autumn: a pot of sedum; spring: crocus and grape hyacinths.
• A saucer of water with pebbles.

Sources and further reading

• RHS: Plants for Pollinators
• RHS: Plants for Pollinators: garden plants (PDF)
• RHS: Pots and container habitats
• RHS: Help grow a million bumblebee miles
• RHS: Greening balconies and roof gardens

Facts and links checked on 21 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.