Can I plant flowers and vegetables in the same garden bed? The answer surely keeps you satisfied. Many flowers are good companions for your vegetables. They help repel pests in the vegetables, scare off harmful bugs, and improve the nutrients in garden soil. Some people think that only fruits, and herbs can be added to the vegetable garden. But flowers (certain species) actually work in this case. They make your garden more beautiful and productive. So good, right?
We’ve rounded up 12 best flowers to grow in vegetable garden. If you want to make your vegetable garden less boring or even boost its yield, just give these flowers a try. Some are even edible, making them a great addition to daily foods. As I love gardening, I prefer growing different plants in my garden. If are making best use of your garden space, you will harvest more with it. Get interested in here? Let’s get started!
#1 Marigold
Marigolds come first in this category. It’s a perfect companion for many vegetables. These edible flowers help excrete chemicals that help keep harmful nematode numbers down. They also attract bees and other pollinators, and beneficial predatory insects to your garden. They may also confuse, repel or act as a trap crop for a range of pest species.
#2 Borage
There are many reasons why borage is worth growing along with your vegetables. This plant produces edible flowers that are appealing to bees and birds. It also acts as a trap crop for aphids, so it also attracts the predatory insects that eat them. Borage also breaks up and aerates the soil with its root system.
#3 Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are also a great companion crop for many vegetables in your garden. Their vivid flowers attract plenty of pollinators and other beneficial insects. They also attract pests as a trap crop, keeping them away from prized produce. Nasturtiums serve asa ground cover around other plants, helping to keep soil covered, retain moisture and suppress weeds.
#4 Sunflowers
Sunflowers are great value as a vegetable garden flower. They are not only good for edible seeds, but also as supports for other plants. These flowers may also have an allelopathic effect on plants grown nearby, inhibiting their growth. (Don’t grow them near potatoes, for example.)
#5 Lavender
Lavender is an excellent companion plant for fruits and vegetables in your garden. It attracts pollinators and beneficial insects. Place lavender on a mound around a vegetable bed and it can also make a delightful natural bed edging.
#6 Cosmos
Cosmos is another flower that fits in very well in your vegetable garden. When blooming, these flowers attract a wide range of insects – including pollinators and predatory insects that will help keep aphids and other pest species at bay.
#7 Calendula
Calendula is also called Pot Marigolds. When blooming, its flowers are beloved of a range of pollinators – bees, butterflies and more. It also attracts predatory insects, and acts as a trap crop for aphids and other pests. Calendula also has great value as a living mulch or cover crop. Its thick, fibrous roots can help protect the soil.
#8 Sweet Peas
Sweet peas not only have culinary applications but are also a great vegetable garden flower. They’re edible for we humans, plenty of other garden creatures enjoy them enormously.
#9 Phacelia
Phacelia produces beautiful purple/blue flowers that are appealing to bees, hoverflies and other beneficial insects. Its dense fern-like foliage also helps smother weeds and create good soil cover, while the extensive root system of the plant improves the soil structure.
#10 Lupins
Lupins are known as a nitrogen fixing flowering plant that can also work well in crop rotation. Like peas, beans and other legumes, lupins will help to add nitrogen to the soil in your vegetable garden. They’re also beloved of bees, and will help to attract a range of beneficial wildlife to your growing areas.
#11 Clover
Clover is another nitrogen fixing plant mentioned in this collection. It’s a great companion plant for many vegetables and herbs in your garden. Its flowers are beloved of pollinators and other beneficial insects. It also serves as a companion crop for a range of common annuals – helping to provide ground cover to reduce moisture loss and weeds, as well as fixing nitrogen.
#12 Comfrey
Comfrey is also an interesting flower to grow in your vegetable garden. Its flowers are appealing to bees and other insects. But what makes these flowers stand out in this category is its use as a source of fertilizer for nearby growing areas.