Growing flowers in your vegetable garden
Growing and caring for your vegetable garden is not only about planting your favourite selection of veggies. It’s also important to understand the benefits of planting specific flowering plants. Not all flowers have the same effect on all the critters that could destroy your crops. So, here are some flowering plants that you should consider for the benefit of your vegetables.
Marigolds
Some people say that they don’t really fancy the smell of these flowers. However, it’s certainly worth it if you keep in mind that they help repel a number of pests and critters. Rabbits, for one, do not like the smell and are likely to head for the hills. If you want to keep mosquitoes away, marigolds can help with this too. Other bugs that are repelled by their scent include thrips, white flies and tomato hornworms. The roots of the plant should remain in the soil over the winter if you have a nematode problem. Also, make sure that these plants get enough full sun and the soil is well-drained.
Lavender
This plant is so handy for a number of reasons. Even if you don’t have a vegetable garden, you can still enjoy the soothing scent of these blooms and perhaps make your own tea or add them to you bath before you take a soak. Lavender is great for keeping ticks and various other insects away. Moths of just about every variety are also repelled by lavender. This plant is easy to grow and, if you choose a spot with full sun, you will soon notice it double and triple in size.
Cosmos
One of the best things about these flowers is that they are so easy to grow and they produce plenty of blooms. They also attract green lacewings which are excellent natural predators that will keep aphids, thrips, scale and various other insects at bay. When choosing a spot for them in your vegetable garden, make sure that you select an area that receives full sun.
Sunflowers
Even if you don’t plan on harvesting sunflower seeds, you can still benefit from planting these blooms in your vegetable garden since they attract many different pollinators. This is great news no matter what you are trying to grow since you can be sure that your harvest will be that much more impressive.
Zinnias
Like sunflowers, zinnias as great for attracting pollinators. They do, however, have a habit of attracting Japanese beetles so make sure that you avoid planting any veggies that are also attractive to these bugs. Apart from enjoying a more colourful vegetable garden, you can also pick some zinnias from time to time and use them to decorate your home.
These are just a few of the best flowers to plant in your vegetable garden. Many of them are so easy to grow that you will enjoy tending to them as much as you do your veggies.