There are so many reasons to grow flowers on your vegetable patch. For starters, they add another dimension to how your plot looks, introducing bright colours into a predominantly green space. Some flowers will have pollinators buzzing with joy and others are good at protecting the plants by keeping unwanted visitors away in a natural and eco-friendly manner. Lots of insects are scent-led, so strongly perfumed blooms can have a tremendously positive impact on your crops.
Flowering herbs have multiple benefits. Chives, rosemary, thyme and oregano are all highly scented and attract pollinators, but also ward off destructive creatures such as aphids, carrot fly and bean beetles as well as looking beautiful, needing little attention and being drought tolerant and readily available to cut for kitchen recipes – what’s not to like?
Calendula and marigolds (tagetes) are great companion plants; their colourful blooms look vibrant throughout summer and many varieties emit a strong scent that suppresses nematodes. Tall plants like sunflowers give shade to those growing below and are a hit with bees and hoverflies and, once they’ve gone to seed, the birds, too. Summer wouldn’t be summer without beautiful and fragrant sweet peas; enjoy picking a posy while the bees flit from flower to flower. It’s hard to resist a row or two of them.
Growing flowers on your veg patch gives you another reason to stop and take stock of all your hard work before embarking on more planting, weeding and harvesting.
TOP TIPS
• Marigolds and herbs like lavender deter insects and protect valuable crops with their scent.
• Growing flowers attracts pollinators – a win for wildlife and crops needing pollination!
• Nasturtiums and borage help by luring pests from crops and also offer edible flowers as a bonus.
• Growing flowers on a veg patch also gives you a reason to grow another crop to harvest; beautiful cut flowers!
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