A balcony for wildlife: Debbie Vannozzi

A balcony for wildlife

From a balcony of a first floor council flat, Southwark - south London...

I've been gardening on my balcony for over 10 years - and some of the plants, like the clematis, have survived for nearly that long.

Starting small

I started off with just annuals in one row of boxes but have gradually added perennials, bulbs (that reappear year after year), herbs that die down then spring back to life, and now have pots, boxes, buckets and whatever else I can fit in every available space!

As the balcony doesn't get much sun, I've had to work out a whole host of things (the hard way) that will live in pots in shade - hostas, hellebores, ferns and box among them.

I've had a go at vegetables and did pretty well with dwarf beans and chilli peppers, as well as rocket and other salad leaves but completely failed with beetroot, despite using a patio variety.

Stars of the show

One of the big stars are the pellargonimus, I have several types including scented, some of them flower right through the winter. I leave them all out and they cope. I've also taken many cuttings.

Another winner is the nasturtiums. I just push seeds in any spare spot from late spring through to late summer, so they flower in stages and cascade down the front of the flats - and bees absolutely love them.

I've learnt from websites such as the RSPB’s to let herbs flower for the bees too, and have become completely organic. I use natural pesticides (from green gardener website) for things like vine weevils and aphids, and organic non-peat composts. One problem I do have though, being in a flat, is nowhere to put spent compost and garden waste.

City birds

Bird life on the balcony consists of mainly greenfinches - who love sunflower seed heads - blue tits occasionally, and blackbird youngsters - when they're fledging the use it to practise flying from the building opposite! Woodpigeons come to eat whatever the finches drop.

We also have a large colony of house martins who live in the boxes specially provided for them in the eaves all around our estate, they always arrive by May 1 and are the soundtrack to the summer sitting out on my balcony (I can just fit a garden chair sideways!)

One of the most spectacular sites I've seen is a flock of house martins wheeling around in a ball making a great noise to fend off a sparrowhawk (which I identified using my new RSPB handbook!) and have since seen the hawk on couple other occasions.

One day I'd love a garden of my own, but in the meantime I'm pleased to say that my neighbour has offered his side of the balcony for me to turn green too!

Homes for Wildlife tips

This is a fine example of making a Home for Wildlife from the most limited of spaces, proving what can be done with some lateral thinking! Here are a few more things Debbie can do to enhance her balcony’s value to wildlife, especially with the opportunity of a second balcony to green up.

Use a large moulded plastic plant tub, hidden among the tubs and planters, as a compost bin. Cover with a board, weigh down with a brick and turn the compost regularly.
Take a look at our 'Buckets for beetles' page and provide dead and decaying wood.
Grow arable flowers such as poppy, corn cockle and corn marigold in shallow plant trays with well-drained, nutrient-poor soil. Alternatively, use a rectangle made from logs (another source of deadwood), lined with a geotextile blanket. Remove the dead stems after the seeds have dropped and lightly rake the soil to encourage germination the following year.
Make a mini hay meadow of fine grasses and flowers. Cut the meadow with hand shears after the seeds have dropped in late summer.
Use tubs to provide water or a bog garden. Small water insects will colonise containers as small as 2' 6" x 1' x 10" deep. Remember to use native plants.

What can I do?

Take part in 'Homes for Wildlife' and we'll provide you with all the advice you'll need to attract birds and other wildlife to your garden.

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