The Benefits of Attracting Birds
Balcony birdwatching is a rewarding hobby, and it gives you an excuse to stare out the window at your balcony garden. Wild birds will eventually become so used to you that they will learn your habits and wait for you to fill up the birdfeeder. Some may be brave enough to feed or hang out on the balcony while you’re working in on your garden's container plants. If you have a tree just beyond the balcony, you may be rewarded with seeing courting rituals (maybe you will even see a nest), hearing beautiful calls at all hours of the day and spotting beautiful new species visiting your feeder.
Garden Pollinators
While balcony gardeners usually look at flowers as beautiful accents to their container gardens, flowers are much more than that: Flowers are the way that most plants reproduce. Most plant species have male and female parts in a single flower, but some plants have separate male and female flowers.
Wild Bird Maintenance
Listed below are some downsides to keeping birdfeeders that attract wild birds to your garden. The sight of those cute little birds is enough for many gardeners to want to provide food for them, but first carefully think about the work that is required to maintaining birdfeeders and the possible downsides that come with keeping feeders hanging in your balcony container garden. If you feel you have enough work caring for your container plants, you may find it to be too much extra work to attract wild birds to your balcony garden.
Attracting Skipper Butterflies to the Balcony Garden
Skippers are a type of butterfly that fly erratically, darting about in the air. When looking at a skipper, many people may think it looks more like a moth than a butterfly. These are endearing little creatures, since they look furry in their adult form, and they have large black eyes. Skipper butterflies are great pollinators that might land in your balcony garden looking for a snack. The larvae of these moths aren’t pest caterpillars, as they eat the sap from grasses. These pollinating butterflies should be a welcome addition to your balcony garden.
The Praying Mantis: A Beneficial Insect
If you find a praying mantis in your balcony garden, you may want to leave it there. Known as the praying mantis for its prayerlike stance, this insect is predatory and will feed on common garden pests. Many praying mantises are camouflaged, and you may not notice them.
