Growing pollinator-friendly flowers on my balcony

By Thomas Glave in Birmingham

I’m originally from the Bronx, New York, and also Jamaica. I’ve lived in the Jewellery Quarter neighbourhood of Birmingham, just at the city centre’s edge, for about six years. My New York City background exposed me to a variety of urban and roof gardens, in a city where green spaces are infrequent and greatly necessary, as is also true in Birmingham.

I’ve been an ecologically minded person ever since I was a child, perhaps partly due to having grown up in proximity to Jamaica’s gorgeous rain forests.  When I was a child, the phrase “climate change” wasn’t heard much, but if you live on an island – or in a huge city – you quickly learn (or should learn) that you’ve got to be respectful and aware of the greater natural world. Climate change news has often invoked alarming stories about bees’ vulnerability; this news began to make me think that perhaps I could do my small bit for bees, rather than just worry about their possible extinction. (Besides, like everyone in my family, I’ve always loved colourful flowers, so planting them for bees would be a ‘win-win’!)

In England, I began to do research on the plants most likely to attract bees and butterflies, and soon learnt that planting diverse flowers would attract and be of great benefit to bees, and would also help achieve a kind of mini-biodiversity. I searched many sources online, and finally ordered packets of the following plants (and probably some others that I can’t remember!)

• Cornflowers (Centaurea cynanus)
• Painted daisies (Tanacetum coccineum)
• Butterfly flower / elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata)
• Dwarf morning glories (Convolvulus tricolor)
• Chinese forget-me-nots (Cynoglossum amabile)
• California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
• Baby’s breath (Gypsophila elegans)
• Candytuft in white and blue (Iberis variety)
• Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)
• Poppies (Papaver variety)
• Lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
• Borage (Borago officinalis)
• Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis)

In early March I planted all the seeds in twenty planter boxes fixed to my balcony’s railings, then waited for everything to begin sprouting, as they soon enough did, against a backdrop of grey and brick city buildings.

Bees of different varieties have definitely been visiting, it seems most often in the morning, but also during the afternoons. One of the most remarkable things about this planting experience has been actually spotting the bees and butterflies on this fourth-floor balcony, in a largely treeless Birmingham neighbourhood. You can’t help but think: how on earth did they find the flowers? Their presence seems as impossible, nearly, as that of the birds that have alighted on the balcony in search of twigs for their nests, picked from my small trees’ mulch.

I’m fortunate to have a flat that has enormous windows from which, each day, I can see all the flowers in all their glorious flirtatious colour, beckoning the bees and butterflies to come closer. When I walk around the balcony to water and inspect the trees and other plants, I take in (actually revel in) the flowers’ beauty and the insects’ presence amongst them, and think: of course this all must powerfully affect my sense of wellbeing, as it would anyone’s. We know that greenery, colour, and sensory experiences in the natural world can positively affect us and even impact upon our worldview, perhaps more so than ever in our environmentally vulnerable era.

Who knew that flowers and insects could bring such real joy?

More ways to help

Looking to create a bumblebee-friendly space in your local area? Check our our Bee the change resources here.