There's nothing better than going into your own backyard to pick a fresh tomato or cucumber. Amongst many fruits and veggies, I also grow a variety of flowers. There are so many benefits to having flowers with your veggies! Here are the reasons why I grow flowers in my vegetable garden.
Why I Grow Flowers In My Vegetable Garden
I decided 4 years ago that I wanted to grow cut flowers (flowers with long stems meant for bouquets). I didn't really have a space where I could do that so I ended up planting them in the vegetable garden. The first year I only grew a few types. But them I realized how much I loved growing them and increased the varieties.
More Pollinators & Beneficial bugs
The first thing I noticed was that my garden was filled with more pollinators than usual. Everything from honey bees, butterflies, to bumble bees and hummingbirds. They are attracted to the bright colors of the flowers but also stay and pollinate the blooms on your vegetables.
Insects like lacewing, ladybugs, and dragonflies are also attracted to sweet smelling flowers. Lacewing larvae eat aphids, white flies, and other small pests. The adult lacewing feed on nectar from the flowers. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes (in all the stages of their life) so they are definitely an isect you want in your yard.
Adds Color!
Flowers add so much color and visual interest to your vegetable garden. Don't get me wrong, I love my nice straight rows of green veggies. But a pop of color here and there is so cheerful.
I love the different textures the flowers bring to the garden space as well.
More Time In The Garden
I find that since I have started growing flowers in my vegetable garden, that I spend more time out there. I check on the progress of the flowers to see if they are blooming yet. I also go out and collect flowers to bring inside quite often.
When you spend more time in your garden, you have a better chance of catching problems (like pests, weeds, and diseases) early before they get out of control.
Repelling Pests
Some types of flowers will even deter pests! Flowers like Marigolds and Nasturtiums are well known for repelling bugs such as white fly, squash bugs and aphids.
Lavender, Bee Balm, and petunias are also great flowers to plant if you want to help keep pests off your veggies.
Bouquets
The reason I wanted to grow cut flowers in the first place was to have access to fresh flowers for my home. I have had so much fun growing them and playing around with different types of arrangements. I love to give them to family and friends. I have some tips for arranging bouquets in THIS POST.
If you are interested in learning more about growing cut flowers from seeds indoors, check out this post HERE.
The types of flowers I am growing in the vegetable garden this year are:
Cosmos, Zinnia, Sunflower, Bachelor Buttons, Dahlias, Craspedia, Delphinium, Nasturtium, Globe Amaranth, Pincushion, and Coneflower. I also grow Feverfew, Yarrow, and daisies in other areas of the yard.
Do you grow flowers in your garden? What kinds do you grow?
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