Image: Per Palmkvist Knudsen

Are the powers that be preventing you from placing feeders around your balcony, deck, or patio?

Don't give up! You can still attract wildlife without feeders.

Draw wildlife closer with the three basics -- food, water, and shelter. And, yes, you can provide food without feeders!

Food

Provide food via plants. Container gardening on its own is enjoyable hobby, and planting species that attract wildlife is even better.

Certain plants provide enticing seed, like dwarf sunflower plants. Others provide fruit, sometimes in the form of fruiting shrubs like dwarf holly or the dwarf European cranberry bush.

Image: Joe Schneid

Still others, like Jacob Cline bee balm or the vining cardinal climber produce nectar favored by colorful hummingbirds and butterflies.

Some plants are multitasking; coneflower offers nectar for butterflies while blooming and seed for finches at the end of the season.

Water

Hopefully, even if you can't have feeders, you can provide decorative fountains or even birdbaths. A percolating fountain draws certain birds in to play and bathe in the shower. Other birds will be attracted by the still water in a pedestal birdbath.

If birdbaths and large decorative fountains are out, a tabletop fountain placed outside might still draw birds. A shallow saucer of wet river rocks or damp mud may attract butterflies or friendly bees.

Shelter

The easiest way to provide shelter is man-made wildlife housing. However, most places that prohibit feeders also prohibit shelter for birds, friendly solitary bees, and bats. Check your regulations carefully.

An evergreen container shrub like Hinoki False Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis') can provide shelter, as can many vines that also double as a food source.

More Information

• See also How To Evaluate Your Space to Attract Wildlife: 6 Elements To Consider