Have you ever thought of pairing beautiful flowers with edible vegetables and herbs throughout your garden? The combination can look downright stunning, that’s for sure. But the pairings of certain flowers and edibles can help reduce the risk of insects or other pests! Plus, if you have a limited amount of gardening space to work with, it might be best to plant everything side by side. Here are some must-know tips and tricks when it comes to mixing flowers and edible vegetables in the garden.
Plant Herbs Along Pathways
Line the pathways of your garden with pretty edible herbs like rosemary (these even bloom!), thyme, and even oregano. This way, when you or one of your guests brushes a plant while walking by, a sweet aroma instantly fills the air. These plants will need to be pruned regularly, but you can throw the clippings in with dinner! Plant rosemary with marigolds, strawberries or lavender with thyme, and keep oregano with your leafy greens to help deter cabbage worm.
Veggie Greens Are Great For Deep Color
Looking to add a bit of deep color to your flower garden, but don’t want to use what little space you have on something that isn’t edible? Fill in these spaces with deep green vegetables like Swiss chard and sprouts. Additionally, pairing sage (an edible herb) with flowers like daisies tends to look incredible in any garden. Lettuce also works really nicely as a good filler throughout your garden, as does parsley due to its unique texture. You’ll just have to remind yourself to harvest these, sometimes they look so beautiful that I forget they’re a veggie!
Pair Beets With Tall Flowers
Beets are a tasty treat come fall, but they also work to add an unexpected pop of color. For gorgeous garden appeal, plant beets with tall flowers like Irises, Delphinium, or Holly Hock. You could even try planting them with Cannia, or even Allium flowers as beets traditionally do well when planted with any member of the onion family.
Pair Pollinators Together
Though Sweat Pea flowers aren’t edible, they do smell delicious and do well when paired with things like edible peas and pole beans. Plant them next to each other, or even along the same trellis, to attract tons of beneficial insects like bees and butterflies to your vegetable/flower garden. You could even throw some zinnia flowers into the mix here. As I always say, the more pollinators, the better!
Other Pretty Edibles
Fill in other spaces throughout your garden with beautiful edibles such as chives, bell peppers, eggplants, or tomatoes. These look beautiful when paired with the pest-fighting marigold flower. Another idea is to weave cucumbers and summer squash into a garden full of stunning sunflowers (the squash are good for eating, and the spiked foliage protect sunflowers from pests)! Additionally, I’ve seen gardeners landscape with 100 percent edible florals like nasturtium (these are also great at keeping beetles away from squash plants), calendula, or hibiscus.
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